Chris Oliver previews this weekend's DAZN action including the latest big test for Anthony Yarde as he takes on David Benavidez.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday November 22
2pts David Benavidez to win in rounds 7-12 at 2/1 (William Hill)
2pts under 8.5 rounds in Abdullah Mason versus Sam Noakes at 5/4 (bet365)
1pt Brian Norman Jr. to win by stoppage at 13/5 (bet365)
There is major British interest on the superb Ring IV: Night of Champions show in Riyadh on Saturday night, live on DAZN PPV.
There are four world title bouts on a superb card and topping the bill is Ilford’s Anthony Yarde as he challenges DAVID BENAVIDEZ (30-0, 24 KOs) for his WBC light heavyweight crown.
Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) is bidding to make it third-time lucky after two previous world title attempts when he performed with lots of credit but ultimately came up short.
In the summer of 2019, Yarde went to Sergey Kovalev’s backyard in Russia and almost had the WBO champion out of there in a monumental eighth round, before running out of gas and being halted in the 11th session.
Two and a half years later, he took on another Russian monster in Artur Beterbiev and while Yarde matched the fearsome champion for periods in a tremendous tear-up, he was saved by the referee in round eight.
The good news for Yarde is he gets another title chance at 34, but the bad news is he’s facing another excellent fighter and one his prime at 28.
The task facing Yarde is highlighted by his odds of 7/1, with Benavidez a best price of 2/17 and it would be a big upset if the champion doesn’t justify those odds with a successful first defence.
The Mexican-American was awarded the belt when division ruler Dmitry Bivol was stripped for failing to face his mandatory challenger, but there is no doubt Benavidez is a worthy champion when you look at his CV.
A former super middleweight champion, he closed out his reign at 168lb with a fantastic run of victories over David Lemieux (TKO3), Caleb Plant (UD) and Demetrius Andrade (TKO6), before two excellent wins since moving up in weight.
Former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk was widely outpointed and then the unbeaten David Morell was expected to give Benavidez all sorts of trouble in February, but the latter ran away with it on the scorecards again.
There is no secret as to what Benavidez’s tactics are going to be – he always brings a lot of pressure and a high output as he looks to overwhelm his opponents. He also boasts a varied arsenal, including some good body work, and has fast hands for such a big man.
Yarde can bang and he needs to get the champion’s respect early in a bid to slow him down, but he could be in for a long night if he can’t do that.
Benavidez can be a little slow to start so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Yarde have some success early on, just like he did against Beterbiev. However, as was the case in that contest, Yarde couldn’t maintain it going into the second half of the fight and I think it could be something similar here.
Benavidez likes to set a good pace and once his notorious engine gets going, there are few who can live with him in the higher weight classes. Yarde’s gas tank has been a concern in the past as well and that all spells trouble for the challenger.
There is also the concern that Yarde may be coming down the other side of the mountain a little bit now well into his 30s and the 4/6 for Benavidez to record a stoppage looks very fair.
Aiming to find a bit more value, it’s 2/1 for Benavidez to win in the second half of the contest and that looks his most likely route of victory to me as he likes to wear his opponents down, rather than blow them away with power.
Yarde can give another good account of himself but, as we have seen before, he may come up short again.
Expect action as Mason enhances reputation
Yarde isn’t the only Brit with plenty on his plate in Saudi Arabia, as Sam Noakes takes on Abdullah Mason for the vacant WBO lightweight title.
Both men are unbeaten with high knockout ratios, and this could be the most exciting contest of the night, but there is a reason why Mason is considered one of the hottest prospects in the world and that is why he is only 3/10 to prevail.
Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) is only 21 but has long been spoken about as the possible next star of American boxing and this could well be his coming-out parade.
Tall and long for the weight, the exciting southpaw has fast hands, an excellent jab, and he applies educated pressure on the front foot.
He did show signs of vulnerability when dropped twice in the opening round by Yohan Vasquez a year ago, but he responded well to stop his man in the next round, and he has looked a more rounded fighter in his three impressive victories since.
That said, Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs) has done nothing wrong in getting here either and he also carries serious power.
He displayed maturity in his shutout points win over the tough Ryan Walsh last December, while stoppages wins over Karthik Kumar (TKO2), Lewis Sylvester (TKO4) and Gianluca Ceglia (RTD8) also advertised his explosive side.
Given both men like to go forward and have power in either hand, it’s no surprise to see this as only 8/13 to not go the distance and the fans are in for a treat while it lasts.
If you want to be cheering one man on, then I wouldn’t put you off the 11/10 with Betfred about a Mason stoppage, but I prefer the 5/4 for this to be finished UNDER 8.5 ROUNDS.
Mason has never been past six rounds before, and I don’t think these two will be hanging around as they both look to capture world honours for the first time.
Norman looks a price
For a man who is officially unbeaten, it’s strange to say Devin Haney has something to prove right now as he bids to become three-weight world champion against BRIAN NORMAN JR.
Haney dazzled fans with his boxing skills on his way to becoming undisputed champion at lightweight and a belt holder at super lightweight but then along came Ryan Garcia.
The latter dropped Haney three times and had his man in all sorts of trouble in registering a decision ‘victory’. While Garcia was 3lb over the 140lb limit and the bout was subsequently declared a no contest due to Garcia’s failed drugs test, the damage to Haney was already done.
That is how it looked in Haney’s sole outing since, as he ran, not danced, his way to a wide points win over Jose Ramirez with a shockingly low punch output. If Haney is indeed gun-shy now, then stepping up in weight to face Norman Jr may not be a great move.
Technically very sound with excellent fundamentals, Norman Jr is quick and hits hard with both hands. The WBO champion has looked excellent on his last two outings, becoming the first man to stop Derrieck Cuevas (TKO3) before dismantling Jin Sasaki in Japan five months ago.
If Haney is back to his best, then he is capable of boxing his way to a decision victory at 6/4, but he is facing a bigger man for the first time in his career, and it is hard to side with him after his dismal last performance.
Arguably the best welterweight in the world right now, Norman Jr could be getting Haney at just the right time, and the 24-year-old champion appears to be improving with each contest. It’s 13/5 for the hard-hitting American to register another STOPPAGE VICTORY and I think there is plenty of juice in that price.
His best punch is his hard left hook, which is the same shot that caused Haney so much trouble against Garcia, and if Norman Jr hurts his man, I don’t expect him to let him off the hook like Garcia did.
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (1/9) can continue his march towards lower-weight greatness by adding the WBA belt to his own WBC and WBO super flyweight titles with a victory over fellow unbeaten champion Fernando Martinez (10/1), but value is thin on the ground in this one.
Posted at 1400 GMT on 21/11/25
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Both of these like to go for the knockout and they carry power, but I expect Marshall to have too much on her return to boxing and the 4/1 about her getting a stoppage looks too big to me.
