Yarde Wants Canelo – How Does It Play Out?

Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) is targeting a fight Canelo Alvarez provided he beats David Benavidez in his next fight.

Yarde faces the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion in November in what will be his third title fight. Yarde previously came up short against Sergey Kovalev in August 2019, as he missed out on the WBO Light Heavyweight Title in an eleventh-round stoppage loss. Another title defeat followed, this time an eight-round stoppage against Artur Beterbiev in January 2023 as the Russian retained his IBF, WBC and WBO Light Heavyweight belts. However, a win over Benavidez could get Yarde the Canelo fight, giving Alvarez a chance to win a belt in another weight class before potentially pursuing undisputed at 175.

“I think Canelo would want to come back and [think], ‘I can beat this guy. He lost to [Sergey] Kovalev. I knocked out Kovalev.’ Do you know what I’m saying? No one knows where this storyline [of mine] will go. Imagine that. Anthony Yarde versus Saul Canelo Alvarez. It would be crazy,” Yarde said 

The Approach

Yarde is a powerful, aggressive puncher (80% KO ratio) who can struggle with controlling his output and conserving energy. Canelo would look to exploit this. For example, Yarde might explode with a powerful one-two combination, only for Canelo to slip the first punch, block the second with his shoulder, and immediately counter with a blistering right hand or a powerful left hook to the body.

Yarde’s most likely path to victory is an early-to-mid rounds knockout. Yarde would try to use his physicality to pin Canelo on the ropes and unleash his power. An example of this would be Yarde landing a clean, heavy straight right hand over Canelo’s lower guard. For Yarde to succeed, he would need to be patient enough to pick his shots and maintain a higher work rate than he showed against Beterbiev.

Conversely, Canelo’s experience would guide him to weather the early storm, utilizing his excellent chin and pocket defense, then turning up his own attack in the second half of the fight. The outcome in this scenario hinges on whether Yarde’s power can land cleanly enough to cause serious damage before his stamina becomes a major liability.