Anthony Yarde eyes Canelo Alvarez showdown in 2026 after third world-title shot

Yarde will be hoping third time really is the charm as he prepares to take on David Benavidez on 22 November

Anthony Yarde has backed himself to beat David Benavidez next month and is targeting a world title showdown with pound-for-pound star Canelo Alvarez next.

Yarde believes that Canelo will see him as his best route back to a world title after losing his undisputed super-middleweight titles to Terence Crawford last month.

“We will see. Someone like Canelo? Yarde told Sky Sports when discussing future fights after Benavidez. “I think Canelo would want to come back and [think] ‘I can beat this guy. He lost to [Sergey] Kovalev. I knocked out Kovalev.

“No one knows where this storyline can go. Imagine that. Anthony Yarde versus Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. It would be crazy.”

Canelo’s next move is yet to be confirmed. He has been linked to fights with Hamzah Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr upon his rumoured return in spring 2026 following a minor surgery to his elbow.

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But if Canelo decides to foray into the light-heavyweight division again, it will be the third time the Mexican has challenged for a world title at 175lbs.

He holds a record of 1-1 as a light-heavyweight, knocking out Sergey Kovalev to become a four-weight world champion in 2019, followed by a unanimous points decision loss to former undisputed champion Dmitry Bivol in 2022.

Yarde will first have to get through one of the most dangerous operators in the sport in the undefeated Benavidez if he hopes to claim the WBC light heavyweight title and tempt Alvarez into a fight.

But the Brit has proven his quality at the world level twice before, travelling to take on Sergey Kovalev and almost getting over the line before losing to an 11th-round stoppage.

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He also gave a much better account of himself than most in a shootout with former undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev in London before he was knocked out in the eighth round in January 2023.

Yarde believes it will be third time lucky against Benavidez, and he could then target Canelo.

“These kinds of fights excite me,” Yarde explained. “The same way I could have won that Beterbiev fight, it’s little, little adjustments. I’m going in with a mindset that I can beat David Benavidez.”

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