Despite having long been regarded as one of the most talented fighters in boxing, David Benavidez has spent years chasing the sort of opportunity he’ll have on Saturday. Benavidez is set to face WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Benavidez twice held the WBC super middleweight championship, but lost the title outside of the ring both times. First, Benavidez was stripped of the title after failing a drug test due to the presence of cocaine. After winning the belt back, he was stripped again when he failed to make weight for his title defense against Alexis Angulo.
Despite those missteps, Benavidez remained an elite super middleweight fighter, but could not find his way back to a world championship after Saul “Caleno” Alvarez became undisputed champion and avoided defending his belts against Benavidez.
David Benavidez embarking on ambitious attempt to conquer a third weight class: ‘I’m not looking for safe’
Brian Campbell
After tiring of waiting for an opportunity that seemed as though it would never come, Benavidez made the decision to move to the light heavyweight division.
He picked up the WBC interim light heavyweight title in his first fight at the new weight, defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk. A win over David Morrell followed, adding the WBA secondary title to Benavidez’s collection.
Finally, prior to his third light heavyweight fight, Benavidez was world champion once again as the WBC promoted him to full champion. He followed that up with a successful title defense, stopping Anthony Yarde in seven rounds.
Now, Benavidez looks for another new challenge as he moves to cruiserweight for the first time in his career to face Ramirez.
Ramirez is also a former super middleweight champion, having won the WBO title in April 2016 and successfully defending the belt five times before a move to light heavyweight.
Ramirez eventually earned a shot at light heavyweight gold, but lost to Dmitry Bivol in their bout for the WBA title.
A move to cruiserweight was next, and Ramirez picked up the WBA title with a win over Arsen Goulamirian and added the WBO title win a victory against Chris Billam-Smith. Ramirez has since defended his unified titles once, defeating Yuniel Dorticos.
Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the undercard for Saturday night in Las Vegas along with how you can watch the fights before getting to a prediction and expert pick on the main event below.
Ramirez vs. Benavidez fight card, odds
Odds via DraftKings
- David Benavidez -390 vs. Gilberto Ramirez (c) +290, unified cruiserweight title
- Jaime Munguia -200 vs. Armando Resendiz +155, super middleweights
- Oscar Duarte -1000 vs. Angel Fierro +600, junior welterweights
- Isaac Lucero -800 vs. Ismael Flores +500, junior middleweights
- Jorge Chavez -115 vs. Tito Sanchez -110, junior featherweights
- Daniel Blancas -700 vs. Raul Soloman +450, super middleweights
- Juan Carrillo -500 vs. Marlon Delgado +350, light heavyweights
Where to watch Ramirez vs. Benavidez
- Date: May 2 | Location: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas
- Start time: 8 p.m. ET (main card)
- Streaming: Prime PPV/DAZN PPV | Price: $79.99
Prediction
There are interesting questions coming into this fight, including whether Benavidez’s power will translate to the 200-pound division. At light heavyweight, Benavidez didn’t seem to have the same level of pop he’d shown at super middleweight and also fatigued a bit in his first two fights at the weight. However, everything seemed to come together against Yarde, and he looked much like the Benavidez boxing fans had become accustomed to seeing.
Ramirez is a solid cruiserweight, but is unspectacular in most aspects of his game. Assuming Benavidez is able to fight to the level of talent he has shown throughout his career, there’s no reason to think he won’t be able to become a unified champion for the first time in his career. Pick: David Benavidez via UD
