David Benavidez announces shock world title fight for May after knocking out Anthony Yarde

David Benavidez already has his next fight lined up following his victory over Anthony Yarde.

Benavidez successfully made the first defence of his WBC light heavyweight title with a stoppage win over Yarde in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

‘The Mexican Monster’ dominated the majority of the action, and despite Yarde showing heart throughout the bout, an onslaught in the corner two minutes into round seven forced the referee to step in and wave off the bout.

Benavidez has extended his unbeaten record to 31-0 with 25 knockouts following the win, and it didn’t take him long to make his next move perfectly clear.

Speaking in his post-fight interview, Benavidez revealed that he is now set to move up to cruiserweight to challenge Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.

“I got some news for you guys. May 2nd, me vs Zurdo Ramirez, I’m going up to cruiserweight to challenge for his titles, so I’m excited for that. I think it might be in Las Vegas. Cinco de Mayo, see you guys soon.”

Ramirez currently holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles, becoming unified champion after victories over fighters such as Chris Billam-Smith, Arsen Goulamirian and most recently Yuniel Dorticos back in June.

He was previously world champion at super-middleweight before initially stepping up to 175lbs, but suffered a loss to Dmitry Bivol, prompting the move to cruiserweight.

Benavidez will be attempting to become a three-weight world champion if he is able to defeat Ramirez, having also held world honours at super-middleweight earlier in his career.