David Benavidez is brimming with confidence, having previously shared rounds with his next opponent ahead of an audacious move up to cruiserweight.
It was officially confirmed this weekend that the 29-year-old will face Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, the unified champion at 200lbs, at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on May 2.
Like Benavidez, Ramirez became a world champion at 168lbs before moving up to light-heavyweight, where his only professional defeat came against Dmitry Bivol in 2022.
Since then, the Mexican has unified the WBO and WBA world titles at cruiserweight after dethroning Arsen Goulamirian and Chris Billam-Smith, both via unanimous decision in 2024.
Having cemented his championship status with another convincing points victory, this time against Yuniel Dorticos in June, the 34-year-old is now considered one of his division’s flagship fighters, alongside IBF world champion Jai Opetaia.
Benavidez, meanwhile, has cemented himself as one of the leading operators at 175lbs following back-to-back unanimous decision victories over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell, which preceded his seventh-round stoppage of Anthony Yarde in November.
The American’s last outing also saw him defend his WBC title, while Bivol still holds the remaining three major belts at light-heavyweight.
Perhaps the pair will eventually collide in an undisputed showdown for all the marbles but, until then, Benavidez has set his sights on becoming a three-division world champion.
Speaking with FightHype, the ‘Mexican Monster’ acknowledged Ramirez’s “warrior” credentials while, in the same breath, claiming that he has previously hurt the two-weight world champion in sparring.
“I’ve sparred ‘Zurdo’ a lot, so I can tell you that I know he knows, that I know, that I hurt his ass – and he knows that.
“But it’s going to be a great fight. Two Mexican warriors going at it [on] May [2], so let’s get it.”
Benavidez was elevated from ‘interim’ to full WBC champion at 175lbs, but now looks to make his mark on the cruiserweight division by dethroning Ramirez.