David Benavidez will fight for Gilberto Ramirez’s unified cruiserweight crown this weekend and if he passes this test, there will only be one person in the “Mexican Monster”.

Benavidez has established himself as one of the most fan-friendly fighters in sports, not only thanks to his fascinating fighting style, but also thanks to his mentality that allows him to face all opponents and take on the toughest challenges.

Reigning at both super middleweight and lightweight heavyweight, the reigning WBC 175-pound champion now moves up to cruiserweight, hoping to hand “Zurdo” Ramirez his second career defeat in what will be the titleholder’s 50th career appearance.

The only other man to defeat Ramirez is unified light heavyweight ruler Dmitry Bivoland v interview with Ariel HelwaniBenavidez made it clear that he intended to return to lightweight heavyweight and then face the Russian.

“I don’t want it to look like he’s scared or nothing, but he knows what it’s like when it comes to David Benavidez. He saw me up close and I saw him up close too.

“He’s a great fighter, we had some great sparring sessions, but he knows I’m not coming to play. He knows that when David Benavidez steps into the ring, all those belts go with David Benavidez.

“I think he knows the dangers and seriousness of this fight and that’s why he took the preparatory fight first. I respect Dmitry Bivol, he’s a great fighter, but he will definitely have to come to me after this fight.”

While Benavidez will fight next weekend, Bivol will make a mandatory defense of his titles against German Michael Eifert on Saturday, May 23, which will be his first fight on home soil since 2021.

Deontay Wilder is unlikely to secure his preferred fight after taking a split decision to fellow veteran Derek Chisora ​​earlier this month.

The two faced off in a messy battle at London’s O2 Arena, with Wilder scoring two knockdowns en route to his 12-round victory.

The 40-year-old had previously recorded just one victory, a seventh-round finish over little-known heavyweight Tyrrell Herndon, following consecutive defeats to Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker.

These two flaws emerged in 2024 and 2023, respectively, and reinforced the growing belief that the “Bronze Bomber” was on the brink of retirement.

However, Wilder has since insisted he wants to stay in the sport, particularly to secure a long-discussed clash with Anthony Joshua, who recently told the Briton to “sit down or shut up”.

The pair have been on a collision course for a century since they held all four major heavyweight titles between them.

While both fighters would likely like to fight without a title later this year, Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn expressed a slightly different desire.

I’m talking to talkSPORTJoshua’s longtime promoter has mentioned a potential appearance this summer ahead of what he hopes will be a November fight with Tyson Fury.

“If we were promoting this event [this summer]that’s exactly what I would do [making the Wilder fight].

“But this is the deal that we made with Fury against AJ as the pinnacle of that deal. There will be a lot of people who won’t want to take a fight that they think will be risky and bet on it. [the Fury fight in] danger.

“The reality is this [that] all fights are risky, especially in this division. We have no problem with fighting Wilder. [But] I don’t think it’s Wilder [on] basis of this agreement.”

This deal includes two fights with Turki Alalshikh, which will allow Joshua to enter the ring before his fight with Fury in overdue 2026.

Such an agreement would mean he would fight for the first time since then in December in the sixth round against Jake Paulwhich was preceded by a tragic car accident that killed two of his close friends.

Carlos Adames said he can beat anyone at middleweight and super middleweight, but the statement was met with immediate backlash from newly crowned IBF super middleweight champion Osleys Iglesias. After Adames announced he was ready to fight, the undefeated Cuban responded on social media, calling for the fight to go ahead.

The exchange began when Carlos Adames stated that no one at 160 or 168 pounds could beat him. The fan quickly challenged him to fight Iglesias, one of the most hazardous names in the super middleweight division.

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Last updated: 23/04/2026 at 10:29