In the video clip today, Benavidez said he wanted to give fans a “preview” of what he’s going to do against Ramirez. He then fired a flurry of rapid first punches at a heavy bag. That’s exactly how Benavidez fights, choosing to park himself in front of his opponents and letting loose with machine gun combinations.
That style has worked for ‘The Mexican Monster’ thus far, but he took a lot of punishment in his fights against David Morrell and Oleksandr Gvozdyk. He found out the hard way that what worked for him against smaller fighters at 168 isn’t going to be quite as effective at 175. Morrell dropped Benavidez and had him hurt twice. That was with the Cuban only occasionally opening up with his shots. He mostly just shelled up during the 12-round fight.
If Benavidez does choose to rattle off combinations against Gilberto, he could live to regret it. This guy has power and experience, and he’ll take advantage of Benavidez if he fights recklessly.
Benavidez is moving up from light heavyweight, where he holds the WBC title, to face Ramirez. He’s not taking a tune-up to get accustomed to the weight class. That might be a mistake, because Benaivdez isn’t facing a regular contender. Zurdo is one of the best, seen by many fans as the #2 guy in the weight class below Jai Opetaia.
“I’m preparing for my fight against Zurdo Ramirez on Cinco de Mayo weekend. I’m going to give you guys a little preview of what’s going to happen,” said David Benavidez today on Instagram, already working hard for his May 2, 2026, fight against unified two-belt cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
“Two more titles. I’m very excited. May 2nd, tune in.”
Benavidez was hit with big shots in his last fight against Anthony Yarde last November. He eventually knocked out Yarde in the seventh, but he knew he’d been in a fight afterward.
The 29-year-old Benavidez is the younger fighter than the 34-year-old Ramirez. However, both fighters look physically on the same level. Ramirez resembles a person in their late 20s, and he hasn’t been involved in grueling fights like Benavidez has during his career.
Zurdo looked impressive in his recent wins over Yuniel Dorticos and Chris Billiam-Smith. He looks like he’s still getting better.
Ramirez can pull off an upset with his natural size advantage and counter-punching. He is also more mobile of the two, and can make it hard for Benavidez to get his offense in gear. Moving up in weight could work against Benavidez’s stamina, as he’ll be bigger. He looked tired in his debut at 175 against Gvozdyk. One can only imagine what it’ll be like for him at cruiserweight now.
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