LAS VEGAS- David “Monster” Benavidez proved moving up 25 pounds in weight was not a problem as he broke down Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez with speed and precision in winning by knockout to rip the cruiserweight world titles away and become a three-division world champion on Saturday.

“You guys gave me the strength to fight,” said Benavidez to his fans on Cinco de Mayo weekend. “So, thank you so much.”

Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) walked into the T-Mobile Arena a 5.5 to 1 favorite and demonstrated immediately to Ramirez (48-2, 30 KOs) and the more than 12,000 fans that despite familiarity in sparring, he would not have a problem.

Both Ramirez and Benavidez had helped each other prepare for big fights, but never actually fought a real fight against each other. Both managed to succeed in becoming world champions in two weight divisions.

Mazatlan, Mexico’s Ramirez was a former super middleweight champion and the unified cruiserweight champion. He was also the first Mexican fighter to accomplish those feats.

The still undefeated Benavidez set a record as the youngest super middleweight champion and also holds the light heavyweight world titles. He moved up to cruiserweight to face Ramirez, who accepted the challenge between Mexican fighters.

“I want to give him thanks for the opportunity. I love Zurdo Ramirez but it is what it is,” Benavidez explained.

Though both are friends outside of the ring, inside there can be only one winner.

Both fighters began cautiously in the opening round. But in the last 10 seconds, Benavidez unleashed a blistering combination of blows on Ramirez. His trademark speed was on display and the fans roared in approval.

Ramirez had won the cruiserweight titles behind a sturdy chin, skills and not allowing the opposition to take over a fight by out-punching him. In the second round, Ramirez matched every attack by Benavidez with his own counter-attack. Though he could not match Benavidez speed, he could match each attack. At the end of the second round, Benavidez again tried to hurl a flurry of speedy blows. This time, Ramirez pounded away at the same time.

Though Benavidez was clearly faster, Ramirez tried punching through his punches, attempting to take advantage of any openings. It worked at times, especially when a left uppercut connected on Benavidez chin in the third round.

Perhaps, realizing the danger Ramirez posed, Benavidez increased the tempo in the fourth round. After Ramirez connected during an exchange, Benavidez unfurled a blazing four-punch combo that sent Ramirez to the floor on one knee at the end of the round.

Ramirez rallied in the fifth round and mounted an attack, but Benavidez was still in control and seemingly measuring for an opening to crack the champion.

The sixth round was not lucky for Ramirez. Benavidez opened up with his familiar speed combos and Ramirez had no answer. He tried valiantly to find a solution but Benavidez unleashed another blazing combo and down went Ramirez, holding his right eye. He was on the floor with a hand over his eye as referee Thomas Taylor counted him out at 2:59 of the round.

Benavidez became the new unified cruiserweight world champion and the crowd erupted.

“I knew I wasn’t going to out-power him, but I knew I had to use the gifts of speed and out-think him,” said Benavidez. “I knew that combination would defeat him easy. Nobody can f— with me.”

After the fight, Benavidez said he wants to please the fans that come out to support him.

“I want to give the fans what they want to see. I see Canelo in the building. I respect Canelo he’s a great champion. And I’m a great champion too,” Benavidez said.

Perhaps later this year, Benavidez and Canelo Alvarez will finally meet.

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Other bouts

Under a new trainer, Jaime Munguia (46-2, 35 KOs) dominated Armando Resindez (16-3, 11 KOs) to walk away with the WBA super middleweight world title and prove he still commands respect in the boxing world.

Munguia, under new trainer Eddy Reynoso and the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez team, showed off agility, dominance from the outside and speed that kept Resindez from being able to find his footing. Munguia had him guessing almost every round what he was going to do.

Resindez had trouble getting inside to Munguia’s body and at times the Tijuana fighter would surprisingly begin a round at full attack. It kept Resindez guessing what to expect.

In the final round, although Munguia was clearly ahead, the Tijuana former super welterweight champion refused to take the careful route and engaged in a furious buzzsaw of blows with Resindez who was staggered by a blow but hung on. Then Resindez connected with a left hook that stunned Munguia. The two Mexican fighters exchanged dangerous punches until the final bell.

After 12 rounds, all three judges saw Munguia the winner and new WBA champion. The scores were 120-108, 119-109, and 117-111.

A battle between Mexican super lightweights saw Oscar Duarte (31-2-1, 23 KOs)  win by split decision after 12 rounds against Angel Fierro (23-5-2, 18 KOs) who weighed four pounds over the limit. Both Mexican fighters had their moments in the fight with Chihuahua’s Duarte having more moments against the Tijuana fighter whose fans booed the decision.

Duarte knocked down Fierro and the referee with a left hook at the end of the fourth round, but it came a second after the bell.

Fierro seemed to get fired up by the knockdown and mounted a rally with crisp combination punching in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Duarte’s best moments came behind body punching. It opened up all avenues for effective attacks against Fierro, who proved very resilient. After 12 rounds, one judge saw Fierro the winner 116-112, but two other judges saw Duarte the winner 116-112, 115-113.

Jose “Tito:  Sanchez (16-0, 10 KOs) needed time to dissect the clever movements of Mexico’s Jorge Chavez (15-1-1, 8 KOs) in a super bantamweight fight. By the fifth round, Sanchez figured out the counter-punching style of Chavez and began to unload powerful combinations. The effective punching forced Chavez out of his counter-punching mode and suddenly it was a shootout the last two rounds. In the tenth and final round, Sanchez blasted Chavez, who spun around and went to the floor. It did not count as a knockdown. But the follow-up attack by Sanchez, a perfect four-punch combination, delivered Chavez to the canvas. He got up and was met by another combination and went through the ropes head first. The referee stopped the fight at 2:50 of the round, giving Sanchez the win by TKO. The crowd cheered the ending.

Argentina’s Ismael Flores (18-1-1, 12 KOs) opened fast with powerful blasts against Mexico’s Isaac Lucero (18-1, 14 KOs) but was unable to significantly hurt the redhead from La Paz. Flores then slipped into his boxing persona and hit and moved against the powerful Mexican fighter. Although neither fighter was significantly hurt, Flores had more options to score. After 10 rounds, two judges scored it 98-92  and another 99-91, all for Flores.

Milwaukee’s Daniel Blancas (15-0, 7 KOs) remained undefeated with a strong performance over Long Beach’s resilient Raul Salomon (16-4-1, 14 KOs) who took big blows in the first six rounds and managed to rally. But Blancas had too many weapons and won by unanimous decision after 10 rounds, with scores of 99-91 (2x) and 100-90.

Hot Golden Boy Promotions’ prospect Dylan Capetillo (2-0) managed to out-fight Arizona’s James Pierce (2-1) in a close super lightweight four round fight. Capetillo got the decision in his hometown.