As many expected, David Benavidez (31-0, 25 ko) beat down and stopped the perfectly competent Anthony Yarde in the seventh round in the main event of Ring IV in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. What few expected was that he would then announce a move up to cruiserweight in a challenge to cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez May 2nd.

Yarde (27-4, 24 ko) made the mistake early on of getting far too comfortable on the ropes, and though through the first four rounds or so he was relatively effective defensively from that position, it was only a matter of time before Benavidez would unload successfully on the often stationary Yarde in combination over and over again. By the sixth, the pace of the fight was visibly weighing on Yarde and Benavidez was rolling downhill, and in the seventh Yarde finally went down in the midst of a vintage Benavidez combination. Benavidez apparently hit Yarde while he was down and was deducted two points for the infraction, but would go on to brutally stop Yarde not too long after.

In the post fight interview, Benavidez announced that he would move up to cruiserweight in his next fight on May 2nd against the WBO cruiserweight champion Ramirez in an all Mexican pound for pound showdown. This is a fight that has been rumored for some time, and though fights with Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev are both equally if not more intriguing, the two have unfinished business against each other. Bivol has been recovering from back surgery and Beterbiev is 40 years of age, and there is no guarantee that either will be ready for an immediate turnaround against Benavidez after what will ultimately be a grueling three fight series. A third fight is also yet to formally be announced.

Outside of that, what remains at light heavyweight is more of the same; high level contenders that Benavidez would be very much favored to win and would likely win by knockout. The fight with Zurdo is the most intriguing matchup available to Benavidez, one of the most offensively gifted fighters in boxing. He has not waited for Canelo Alvarez, and he will not wait for the two aging light heavyweight legends to conclude their rivalry. He is doing what Terence Crawford did earlier this year, and daring to be great.