Anthony Yarde has said he will “eat some good food and go on holiday” after his valiant showing in losing in seven rounds to David Benavidez.
Yarde, now 34, dropped to 27-4 (24 KOs) and found the American too busy, big and strong.
Speaking on Instagram the next morning, Londoner Yarde said: “I want to say a big thank you to everybody who tuned in to support, especially those that flew out to Saudi to watch it live. Appreciate you all. Those that know me know that I’m pissed but I’ll be back better, stronger. Congrats to Benavidez, serious fighter. I knew what I was getting myself into it, but I thought I could pull it off and shake up the world trying to be great again, he was just the better man tonight. That’s me being honest. Congrats to him and to his team. Just letting everybody know I’m good, some people are worried because my nose was bleeding, but I’m good.”
Yarde has fallen short in title fights to Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev in previous title fights during which he showed similar courage in the face of adversity.
