David Benavidez retained his WBC light-heavyweight title with a brutal seventh-round stoppage over Anthony Yarde, whose future in the sport has been left uncertain.
London-born Yarde produced plenty of early energy but had no answer to the brute power of the ‘Mexican Monster’. Time and again, Yarde found himself back into the corner and pummelled.
Bloodied from the fifth round, Yarde looked visibly tired after early exertions as Benavidez showed no mercy in a beatdown in Riyadh.
A thunderous left hook in the seventh round prompted the referee to jump in, with Yarde earlier in the round rising from the canvas to continue.
Yarde has now lost his third title fight, and it remains to be seen who - if anyone - he would fight next.
Earlier in the evening, Devin Haney produced a masterclass in boxing to beat Brian Norman Jr and claim the WBO welterweight title, becoming a three-weight world champion in the process.
That was after Jesse Rodriguez had stopped Fernando Martinez to win WBO, WBA and WBC super-flyweight belts in a one-sided affair.
The fight of the night belonged to Abdullah Mason and British fighter Sam Noakes, who battled over 12 absorbing rounds until the former claimed the vacant WBO lightweight title. The American, at 21 yers old, is now the youngest male world champion in the sport and a true star for now and the future.
