It's a stacked lineup as the focus of the boxing world returns to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as 'Ring IV' takes place on Saturday afternoon. This is a card replete with well-known names and elite talent involved in meaningful fights. Here's a look at the four main bouts with my predictions:
Ring Magazine
- David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde
Benavidez, who is now the WBC light heavyweight champion, is coming off his decisive win over David Morrell back in February, is one of the most crowd-pleasing fighters in the game. 'the Mexican Monster' applies steady pressure throughout a fight and his punches seem to come in waves. Some might question his power since he moved up to 175 but he faced two pretty sturdy guys (Oleksander Gvodyk and Morrell) and won handily. Benavidez may not knock you out, but he will drown you in a torrent of leather.
Currently, he is rated second at 175 by Ring Magazine, and many people believe he is the future of this weight class post-Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
German Villasenor
In Yarde -- rated fourth in the division by Ring -- he is facing an athletic and muscular fighter who can punch a bit. But there is a particular pattern to his career, when he steps up against elite competition (Sergey Kovalev and Beterbiev), he has his moments but eventually succumbs to more well-rounded opponents.
I see the same thing happening here. Expect to see a Benavidez -- who is a 12-to-1 favorite according to @Fight_Ghost, who has more than a passing interest in these things -- grind down Yarde with his usual barrage. Yarde might have a moment or two, but he'll get swarmed and stopped in round eight.
- Brian Norman vs Devin Haney
OK, so I'm told that this fight is now basically a pick'em at this point. I can see why. Haney is the much more seasoned and experienced boxer, and the move up to welterweight may help his legs and aid his punch resistance.
Riyadh Season
As for Norman, who is the WBO welterweight titlist, he is an ascending young fighter. He's come a long way from the guy that was on the deck against Nelson Bocachica in March of 2024. At this point he looked much more like a suspect than prospect. But from the Giovanni Santillan fight on, the 24 year old Norman has been a different guy, scoring three impressive stoppages. He is currently the top ranked welterweight in the Ring rankings.
Now, there is an argument that he has never faced a boxer the caliber of Haney. No dispute here, but I just can't shake the vision of Haney being so cautious against Jose Ramirez back in May. Ramirez may have not had the athleticism and quickness to close the gap on Haney, but Norman is a live athlete -- and he has power in both hands.
Naoki Fukuda/Top Rank
As long as Norman doesn't get mesmerized by the boxing of Haney, and immediately gets to fighting, I think he wins a hard-fought decision to retain his title.
- Jesse Rodriguez vs Fernando Martinez
Who doesn't like a good unification bout? And 'Bam' Rodriguez is no stranger to them having unified titles before in his career and now he tries to unify three-fourths of the junior bantamweight division versus WBA belt-holder, 'Puma' Martinez. Currently, he is the Ring Magazine champion at 115. Back a few months ago Rodriguez systematically took apart Phumelela Cafu to consolidate the WBC and WBO straps. Rodriguez, at just age 25, is already one of the elite prizefighters in the world. No pound-for-pound list can be taken seriously that doesn't have him in the top half-dozen or so.
Martinez is your typically tough, hard-nosed Argentine brawler. You don't have to come looking for him, he'll be right coming to you.
Matchroom Boxing
Which is going to be a problem for him. Rodriguez is one of the games pure craftsmen, and going at him is akin to giving Aaron Judge fastballs right down the middle of the plate. The odds for this contest are 10-to-1, which may seem a tad lopsided, but it's not really an insult to Rodriguez but a testament to how good 'Bam' is. I like Rodriguez to wear down Martinez and stop him in round 10.
- Sam Noakes vs. Abdullah Mason
And finally we have the battle for the vacant WBO lightweight title contested by two undefeated boxers with contrasting styles. Noakes is a strong and sturdy sort from Britain. He is a no-frills fighter who can bang with both hands. He is actually rated eighth by Ring, one spot ahead of the highly touted Mason.
Mason is a boxer that American fans have seen since day one with his association with Top Rank and his numerous appearances on ESPN platforms. He is a quicksilver southpaw with speed, quickness and unnerving reflexes. Against Noakes, he has the decided advantages in athleticism and perhaps stylistically, given his left-handed stance.
Mikey Williams/Top Rank
But we can't forget that for all his highlight reel KO's, Mason was sent down twice by Yohan Vazquez not-too-long before scoring a second round stoppage. On this night in Norfolk, Virginia, Mason was a high powered sports car without brakes, and he nearly wrapped himself around a telephone pole. In subsequent fights he has shown that he can step on the brakes and adhere to the speed limit a bit more on his way to knockouts.
If he uses the same discretion early in this fight and boxes soundly, he can eventually get to Noakes. But there will be times his chin will be tested by his heavy-handed foe. My belief is the he has to be cautious early to be dangerous later. Mason is now a 4-to-1 favorite, the odds have come down a bit. I'm tabbing Mason here by late knockout.
3KR
This week on 'the 3 Knockdown Rule', Mario Lopez and I discuss the announcement of the Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua fight, and everything else in boxing:
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