The feeling then was that it was only a matter of time. That feeling had started in round one, when we saw how composed Benavidez was in the face of a spirited challenger, and all it did was increase round by round, correlating with the rate at which Yarde’s output dropped and his confidence ebbed. It seemed almost cruel, the way that happened. Because no matter how well Yarde and his team thought he was doing at the start, each of us, including Butasi, knew better than to believe it would amount to something tangible. It just never would. Surviving, after all, is not the same as thriving and this every fighter knows. In fact, it could even be argued that there are few things scarier in boxing than when a fighter discovers that everything they spent 12 weeks planning – in the gym, with sparring partners – does not work when the moment to execute arrives. “Easier said than done,” said Buatsi, speaking for them all, and he was right. In the case of David Benavidez, that would appear to be the feeling.
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