There is a possible stumbling block in the way of the proposed Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez-David Benavidez bout scheduled to take place on May 2, and its name is Robin Sirwan Safar.
The Swedish cruiserweight contender has ambitions of his own, but he is now expected to fight Ramirez on the January 16 bill led by Alexis Rocha’s rematch with Raul Curiel.
Safar wants big fights of his own – and not necessarily for titles. He would happily face England’s Chris Billam-Smith and is presently ranked fifth by the WBO and eighth by the IBF.
“In a perfect world, I would like to fight again – February, March – and Chris Billam-Smith would be a nice fight,” he told BoxingScene.
“[Cuban] Mike Perez would also be a nice fight because he’s southpaw – I do want to fight against southpaw because [IBF champion] Jai [Opetaia] is southpaw and ‘Zurdo’ is southpaw.
“That would be nice. I’m just taking whatever comes – whatever my team wants me to do. … But obviously those two are good names. I think Ryan Rozicki is a good name. Any top-10 fighter could get it, you know?”
The WBO title is held by Badou Jack, and he and Noel Mikaelian fight again in December – Jack earned a majority decision in May – but you won’t hear Safar calling out Jack, his fellow Swede.
It was Jack who made Safar – 19-0 (13 KOs) – feel more at home in Las Vegas when Safar moved there in 2017-2018, and so it is hard for Safar to imagine their paths crossing competitively.
“That’s kind of like my people, basically,” said the 32-year-old cruiserweight Safar, who is promoted by Golden Boy. “Because he’s the one who took me under his wing when I got to Vegas, obviously from Sweden, too, you know. I would never call him out. But, you know, if I get the opportunity to fight for the title, bro, then it don’t really matter who got the title – but he’s not my enemy.”
Two Swedes fighting for a world title would be a unique proposition.
Many see Ramirez and Opetaia as the two best in the division, and Safar finds it hard to split them as No. 1 and No. 2.
“I think it’s 50-50, to be honest,” he said. “I usually say like 45-55 when I do believe somebody's slightly better. But this time, I do really think it’s 50-50 because I do really think that Jai Opetaia is kind of overhyped.”
And Safar, who defeated Sergey Kovalev in Saudi Arabia in 2024, knows he is on the cusp of fighting for a title in 2026.
“I still am [in contention],” Safar said. “[I know] that I will fight for the title and I will become a world champion. I know that will happen.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
