‘Don’t ever question my character’: Yarde talks about accepting Benavidez fight

Anthony Yarde says he’s shown his true colors by repeatedly jumping into the deep end of the elite.

Anthony Yarde sits down with Ring Magazine to talk about his upcoming title opportunity with David Benavidez, which will mark the third time he’ll contend for a world title. Yarde hasn’t been able to successfully win the big fight just yet, but he’s undeterred heading into showdown as he looks to finally break through. Here’s some excerpts from Yarde below.

Yarde on taking on the toughest challenges at light heavyweight

“Don’t ever question my character. I just feel like I only really know what someone’s about once I fought them. I don’t care about how they fought other people. We saw it with Beterbiev, I have him one of his hardest fights before the Bivol fight, damaged him, cut him, no one was expecting that. And I saw what people was writing, they expected me to get cleaned out like everyone else.

“But, again, I was ahead on the scorecards, I learned a lot from the fight, could take something from the fight, and again, just shows my character. I will fight anybody.”

On Benavidez’s reputation for brutality.

“I think Beterbiev was known as a more destructive puncher. I think with Benavidez, he’s known more as a volume, pressure, kind of boxer. But I don’t care. I don’t care if they’re master boxers, punchers, I don’t care. And if you look at the people I’ve fought, I fought them where I’m premature in the sport. I don’t care.”

On this third chance at a world title and if he worries he’ll never get over the hump

“No. Absolutely not...I only care about the opinion of myself — what I really think about myself — that’s a conversation a lot people can’t have in this world, what they really think of themselves, are they proud of themselves, did they go after things, did they put it all on the line...I can look in the mirror, look at my own eyeballs and say ‘yeah, he’s challenged every fear in his bone, in his body.’”

On whether he thinks he can KO Benavidez

“100%. I feel like the reason it’s an exciting fight is because people know I’m going to be the underdog, you’ve got to give him his credits...but they know that I’m one of them people where it’s not even a banana, it’s a different kind of slippery fruit you can think of, it’s okra. They’re saying ‘this guy is going to give it,’ so I think it’s one of those things were everyone is excited to see what happens.”