Anthony Yarde can certainly attest to that.

The British light heavyweight undertook one of the most difficult tasks in boxing when he traveled to Russia in August 2019 to challenge then WBO champ Sergey Kovalev in his hometown of Chelyabinsk. Yarde had his moments, but he was eventually stopped in the 11th round.

Three-and-a-half years later, Yarde engaged the fearsome Artur Beterbiev in an exciting toe-to-toe battle in London. Again, Yarde enjoyed spells of success, only to be saved by his corner eight rounds into a fight for the IBF, WBC WBO belts.

His most recent title tilt came November 22 against WBC champion David Benavidez. Yarde never got a real foothold in the fight and was finished in the seventh round.

“What a fighter,” Yarde said of Benavidez during an appearance on talkSPORT. “I fought a lot of people. I fought some great fighters. I fought Beterbiev, Kovalev and now this ‘Monster,’ as they call him, and I’m fighting all these people in their prime, when they’re on an upward scale. Where everyone’s scared to fight them. David Benavidez said it himself. I’m the only light heavyweight in the world that he respects because nobody would fight him.”

The 175-pound class is one of boxing’s classic weight divisions and has been home to some of the sport’s best fighters and biggest stars.

The retired Kovalev, Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) and Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) are each destructive in their own way and are among the very best to campaign at the weight since the turn of the century.

Yarde (27-4, 24 KOs) – who is ranked No. 3 by The Ring at light heavyweight – is uniquely placed to compare the three against each other, but he can’t decide who is the best.

“I fought them at different times,” Yarde said. “It’s hard to say. They’re just different fighters stylistically. I’ll say Beterbiev was the strongest, the hardest punch. Believe it or not, I’m in there with Benavidez and he’s whacking but none of these shots are really hurting me. Very, very fast hands.”

“Kovalev was a different kind of fight as well. It was early in my career. I was green – 18 fights in – and I had to go to Russia to fight him. I’ve never felt exhaustion like that in my life.”

Benavidez, who knocked out Gilberto Ramirez in the sixth round of his following fight to win the WBA and WBO cruiserweight crowns, is known for his all-action style and relentless pressure. Yarde was most impressed, though, by how The Ring’s No. 1-ranked light heavyweight was able to control the range and impose his style.

“It was the distance,” Yarde recalled. “With Beterbiev as well it was a similar thing, how he was able to jump in and reach me with certain shots and I was thinking, ‘What? How?’

“With Benavidez, he does these steps where he comes in or whatever and his legs were like abnormally long. I’m thinking, ‘He’s there,’ and next thing he’s there – ‘Boom! Boom!’ Then I was like, ‘Come on, Let’s have a fight.’ But, then again, that’s what he’s known for.”