David Benavidez has been accused of overlooking the challenge of Anthony Yarde by the Londoner’s trainer, Tunde Ajayi.

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) makes the first defence of his WBC light heavyweight title against Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) on November 22 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Yarde, who will challenge for a 175-pound title for the third time, has been made a wide outsider by the oddsmakers ahead of the clash, which tops “The Ring IV: Night of Champions” event. Ajayi believes there is a chance that Benavidez is simply not taking them seriously.

“I just think whenever somebody is already talking about another fight in the future, then they are overlooking the one in front of them,” Ajayi told The Ring. “So, yeah, keep overlooking us. He’s talking about [Dmitry] Bivol and [Artur] Beterbiev and I’m like, “Are you having a laugh mate?’ Do you think we are coming here to mess about? We are coming here to fight, and David Benavidez is going to be in the fight of his life.”

Benavidez, a two-time WBC super middleweight champion, decided to move up to light heavyweight in June 2024 in order to face Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the interim version of the WBC’s title.

After beating the Ukrainian on points, he then did the same against David Morrell in February, but he had to get up off the floor in the 11th round to win. He was elevated to full champion in April after Bivol decided to vacate his belt.

Yarde, meanwhile, is a career light heavyweight and far more established at the weight. He has been stopped in his previous two world title challenges, albeit against two 175 pound greats in Sergey Kovalev and Beterbiev.

“I think Anthony just needs to be himself in this fight,” Ajayi added. “We all heard him tell Benavidez that he wants to have a shootout. Let’s get it right, this kid has had two fights at light heavyweight – Gvozdyk, who he gassed out against and then he got dropped by Morrell, an 11-fight novice. I’m just keeping it real, he’d had 11 professional fights.

“Yes, he had amateur experience, but he’s not Beterbiev or Kovalev, a two-time Ring magazine ‘Fighter of the Year.’ He’s not that level. But Ant has got that experience against those guys and he’s still fresh as a daisy. I’m aware of Benavidez’s achievements, I’m aware that he’s very feared, I’ve heard the sparring stories and heard David said everyone turned down the fight. But we are not everyone.”

Ajayi, a mainstay of the London boxing scene for nearly 30 years, has been Yarde’s one and only trainer since he embarked on his professional career back in 2015. An upset victory over Benavidez would represent Ajayi’s first world title as a coach – so has he dared to dream about that moment?

“Every single day,” he says. “I think about it every single day. That’s why this is a big fight. There’s a lot on the line. From my own personal perspective, I feel like it’s my reputation on the line. All I can say is if there was one man I’d want to do this with, it’s Anthony Yarde.”