Benavidez vs Yarde: Ring IV date, fight time, undercard, prediction, ring walks and odds

Benavidez will defend his WBC light-heavyweight title in the last of four world championship fights taking place on a huge bill.

It is a massive opportunity for Londoner Yarde, who will hope to make it third time lucky in terms of world title challenges after previous spirited defeats by Russian duo Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev.

‘The Beast from the East’ has had something of an underwhelming run since his epic clash with Beterbiev in January 2023 in which he hurt the former undisputed champion in a thrilling encounter at Wembley Arena as he tried to claim the WBC, IBF and WBO belts at 175lbs before being pulled out by his corner following a heavy knockdown in the eighth round.

Yarde returned with early knockout triumphs over little-known opponents in Jorge Silva and Marko Nikolic before labouring to an unimpressive points win over Ralfs Vilcans. He then claimed a decision against Lyndon Arthur in the lacklustre third instalment of their long-running rivalry on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in April.

He now faces another enormous test against Benavidez, one of the sport’s most explosive fighters who remains undefeated at 30-0 with 24 knockouts having reigned as WBC light-heavyweight champion since being elevated following Dmitry Bivol’s decision to vacate one of his belts in April having won a rematch with Beterbiev to become undisputed.

Benavidez became Bivol’s mandatory challenger with the WBC, but the belt was relinquished as the latter instead chose to try and secure a decisive trilogy contest with Beterbiev, which has been put on hold for now with Beterbiev also pulling out of a meeting with Deon Nicholson scheduled for this card.

Bivol, meanwhile, is aiming to return to the ring in early 2026 after undergoing back surgery in the summer.