On Saturday night, May 2nd, David “The Mexican Monster” Benavidez will challenge the WBA, WBO unified cruiserweight world champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs).
Due to the styles of both fighters, this matchup is guaranteed to be a fan-friendly event. The action is set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and it will stream live globally on DAZN PPV.
Click Here To Watch Benavidez vs. Zurdo and Inoue vs. Nakatini LIVE!
A product of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, Zurdo Ramirez made his professional boxing debut back in August 2009. Zurdo’s first 25 career bouts all took place in his native Mexico.
Zurdo Ramirez made his debut in the United States back in August 2013 when he scored a unanimous decision victory over Derrick Findley. Three years later, Ramirez defeated Arthur Abraham and won his first world title.
After successfully defending his WBO super-middleweight world title five times, Ramirez went up in weight and made an attempt to become a two-division world champion.
Unfortunately for Ramirez, he suffered his first career loss to the WBA light-heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol. Ramirez would bounce back in his next bout by outpointing Joe Smith Jr.
Zurdo Ramirez became a multi-division world champion in March 2024 when he defeated Arsen Goulamirian for the WBA cruiserweight world title.
Eight months later, Ramirez beat Chris Billam-Smith and won the WBO strap. Now the unified world cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez is about to defend his titles against a boxer who is focused on being one of the greats.
Early in his tenure at 168, David Benavidez became a two-time WBC champion. During his last 3 years in the division, Benavidez pursued a fight with Canelo Alvarez, and Alvarez proceeded to put on a clinic regarding the art of ducking.
After Canelo successfully avoided him for multiple years, Benavidez decided to move up to the light-heavyweight division. In his debut at 175, Benavidez outpointed Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
With the victory, David Benavidez won the vacant WBC title. Eight months later, Benavidez picked up the WBA (Regular) belt when he beat David Morrell by way of unanimous decision.
In his most recent ring appearance, Benavidez punished Anthony Yarde to the point that the referee was forced to step in and put a halt to the contest in the seventh round.
Now the undefeated 29-year-old David Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) is ready to challenge a world champion he is very familiar with. Early in his career, Benavidez and Zurdo Ramirez were involved in some intense sparring sessions.
On Saturday night, May 2nd, Ramirez and Benavidez will be under the bright lights participating in a high-stakes matchup. Despite the fact that he’s the defending champion, Ramirez enters the contest as the underdog.
The 34-year-old southpaw Zurdo Ramirez is an aggressive high-volume puncher who has power, and he’s very accurate with his shots. Ramirez has excellent footwork, and he excels at creating angles.
The challenger, David Benavidez, is a pressure fighter who’s always on the front foot. Benavidez is a high volume puncher who is accurate, he has elite hand speed, excellent punch placement, and he’s accustomed to landing rapid fire combinations.
Zurdo Ramirez’s path to victory starts with the jab and landing straight punches. Ramirez needs to control the distance, slow down the pace, target the body, and punch between the shots.
David Benavidez is favored to win this fight due to his skill set and his ability to systematically break his opponent down during the course of a fight. The only question for Benavidez is how he will respond to Zurdo’s power?
Saturday night’s main event will feature two elite boxers who both utilize the Mexican style. The Zurdo Ramirez vs David Benavidez unified world title bout will be an action-packed fight that has the potential to be an instant classic.
Last Updated on 2026/05/01 at 8:20 PM
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