If there were any remaining doubts about the pairing, unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez confirmed on Tuesday that he will indeed face David Benavidez in an all-Mexico showdown on May 2 in Las Vegas.
Ramirez, 48-1 (30 KOs), will first take on Sweden’s Robin Sirwan Safar, 19-0 (13 KOs), on January 16 in Palm Desert, California. But assuming “Zurdo” makes it through the Safar fight without incident, the plan, as first reported by BoxingScene, is for Benavidez to move up from the light heavyweight division to challenge for Ramirez’s two 200lbs belts at T-Mobile Arena on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
“I’m excited about this fight, and this is something I’ve targeted for years,” Ramirez said in a press release. “It will be your classic Mexican-versus-Mexican-American war. I’m familiar with David and his team and have shared the gym and ring with them in the past. They’re great people, but business is business, and come May, I will have my arm raised.”
Benavidez, 31-0 (25 KOs), is a Phoenix-born fighter of Mexican descent and a two-division champion. A former super middleweight titleholder, he made the first defense of his full light heavyweight title in a seventh-round stoppage of Anthony Yarde on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He won the interim belt with a 12-round unanimous decision over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June 2024, then defended it in a convincing points win over David Morrell Jnr this past February. Benavidez, 28, was elevated to full titleholder in April when Dmitry Bivol vacated to pursue a trilogy fight with Artur Beterbiev.
Ramirez, a 34-year-old from Mazatlan, Mexico, most recently won a 12-round unanimous decision over Yuniel Dorticos, 27-2 (25 KOs) in June, and he had been weighing unification options while recovering from July shoulder surgery. Among them, a matchup to unify with Australia’s Jai Opetaia, 29-0 (32 KOs) – also the lineal cruiserweight champ – had been the most attractive before Benavidez stepped forward. Opetaia has since accused Ramirez of ducking him.
“I’m after the biggest fights possible and I want to make sure I’m fighting the best,” Ramirez said in response. “To be honest, I didn’t even know who Opetaia was until recently. Someone told me some things he said, and I think he might have rocks for brains. This guy hasn’t impressed me at all; he’s fought a bunch of cannon fodders to get to where he is. All these outbursts and spreading lies – saying he called my phone – reminds me of all my ex-girlfriends.”
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
