A big fight card goes down on Saturday, with four world title bouts anchoring the action from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the headliner, WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez will put his title on the line against Anthony Yarde. Benavidez moved up in weight after failed attempts to lure former undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez into an epic showdown. He’s fought twice since moving up to 175 pounds, outlasting Oleksandr Gvozdyk by decision and then battering David Morrell over 12 rounds in February.
“I’ve had my eye on Anthony Yarde for a long time. I know he’s a great fighter. He has a lot of heart, he has a lot of power, and the thing I like about him is no matter who he’s up against, he’s in there to make it a great fight,” Benavidez said at the final press conference this week. “Me, I like to make every fight like I’m in a war. I like to give the people the fights they want to see. I had a great training camp. I’ve trained extremely hard and you know this fight is going to live up to the moment. Anthony Yarde, he’s trying to capture a world title. I’m trying to capture all the titles and unify all the titles in the light heavyweight division so there’s a lot at stake here.”
The other three championship bouts set for the event are WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. against Devin Haney, WBC and WBO junior bantamweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez battling WBA champ Fernando Martinez in a three-belt unification bout, and Abdullah Mason facing Sam Noakes for the vacant WBO lightweight championship.
There are plenty of intriguing storylines running through the card, so let’s take a look at the odds and break down all four world title fights.
David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde fight card, odds
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
- David Benavidez (c) -1200 vs. Anthony Yarde +680, WBC light heavyweight title
- Brian Norman Jr. (c) -112 vs. Devin Haney -112, WBO welterweight title
- Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (c) -1200 vs. Fernando Martinez (c) +670, unified junior bantamweight title
- Abdullah Mason -430 vs. Sam Noakes +300, vacant WBO lightweight title
Abdullah Mason vs. Sam Noakes
The 21-year-old Mason (19-0, 17 KO) has been a hot prospect since turning professional in 2021. He has been on the standard prospect track of facing lower-level talent before slowly moving up to more difficult challenges. In his most recent fight, Mason faced the most dangerous test of his career, taking on Jeremia Nakathila. Nakathila was unable to continue after the fourth round as Mason cruised again.
In Noakes (17-0, 15 KO), Mason is facing another up-and-comer, though one seven years his senior. Noakes’ career has been very similar to Mason’s, with a comparable stoppage rate and journey from facing lower-level talent to a few wins over veterans such as Yvan Mendy and Ryan Walsh.
Mason is someone who feels as though he has the makings of a special fighter, while Noakes feels like he tops out at being a very good one. That said, neither fighter has faced much resistance in their careers; in their four combined fights that went to decision, they lost a total of two rounds. This has the potential to be a very good fight that teaches plenty about both fighters. Pick: Abdullah Mason via UD (+220)
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs. Fernando Martinez
Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KO) had a breakthrough 2022, when he accepted a fight with Carlos Cuadras for the WBC super flyweight championship on one week’s notice. Jumping up a weight class on short notice, Rodriguez won the title and defended it twice against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Israel Gonzalez before returning to flyweight. At flyweight, Rodriguez won two titles before returning to super flyweight, where he has continued piling up impressive victories while becoming a unified champion once again — and grabbing the No. 5 spot in the CBS Sports pound-for-pound rankings.
Martinez (18-0, 9 KO) is a fighter who thrives on aggression. He won the IBF title by beating Jerwin Ancajas in 2022. After winning the belt, Martinez successfully defended in a rematch before beating Jade Bornea and Kazuto Ioka (twice). The fight has been targeted for a while, and now the two best fighters at 115 pounds are set to mix it up.
Rodriguez is a brilliant tactical fighter who unleashes combinations as well as anyone in the game. Martinez will have to figure out a way for his aggression to nullify Rodriguez’s footwork and force the issue in exchanges. That’s a big ask, though. Regardless, this has all the makings of one of the best fights of the year. Pick: Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez via UD (+290)
Brian Norman Jr. vs. Devin Haney
Haney (32-0, 15 KO) comes into the fight as the bigger name. As the former undisputed lightweight champion, Haney has been in some huge fights in his career. As important as undisputed title fights against George Kambosos Jr. and Vasiliy Lomachenko were, the fight most people remember for Haney is the thumping he received from Ryan Garcia in April 2024. Haney was dropped by Garcia three times in a fight that came as Garcia appeared to be spiraling in a mental health crisis. Garcia, who also missed weight, failed drug tests, leading to a no-contest. By that technicality, Haney is still undefeated, but he looked very gunshy against Jose Ramirez in a terrible fight in May.
Norman (28-0, 22 KO) packs plenty of power, and if Haney is still as worried about getting hit as he appeared to be against Ramirez, this could be a long night for him. Norman is on a career best run over his past three fights, winning the interim WBO welterweight belt by knocking out Giovani Santillan and being promoted to full champion when Terence Crawford vacated the belt to move up in weight. As champ, Norman has knocked out Derrieck Cuevas and Jin Sasaki.
Haney opened the fight as a near -145 favorite but now sits at a slight -112 underdog to Norman’s -120. It’s hard to erase the image of Haney repeatedly crumbling when hit by Garcia’s left hooks and the almost complete inability to get out of neutral against Ramirez in one of the worst fights you’ll ever see. For those reasons, it’s not difficult to see Norman scoring the biggest win of his career on Saturday. Pick: Brian Norman Jr. via TKO9 (+210)
David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde
Both main event fighters have promised a shootout. Benavidez told DAZN that he’s happy to meet in a fan-friendly fight.
“I watched his fights,” Benavidez said. “He likes to go forward, he likes to press the action, he likes to look for the knockout, so I’m the same way. So I think at the end of the day it’s going to be both egos going at each other — who’s going to back up? It’s not going to be me. It’s probably not going to be him, either.
“When we’re ready to go to war the people are going to see a great war, and that’s what we’re here for, to give the fans what they want to see.”
Benavidez (30-0, 24 KO) is now fully established at light heavyweight, a division he moved to when it was clear Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was never going to meet him in the ring. Benavidez took an at times ugly win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk to win the WBC interim title and then defended that belt with a big win over fellow former super middleweight David Morrell. Now, having been promoted to full champion, Benavidez looks to make his first defense against Yarde.
Yarde (27-3, 24 KO) has twice challenged for light heavyweight world titles, losing to Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and Artur Beterbiev in 2023. In his losses to Kovalev and Lyndon Arthur, Yarde picked up a reputation as someone who was missing the ability to dig deep and a willingness to walk through fire when things got difficult. While Yarde was stopped by Beterbiev in the eighth round of their fight, he shook some of those labels by returning fire and digging deep to give Beterbiev a very difficult fight.
Benavidez is the better fighter heading into this one, but his power has yet to fully translate to 175 pounds. The Yarde who showed up against Beterbiev could pull off a massive upset. That result does feel unlikely, though. Pick: David Benavidez via UD (+185)
