As he began walking around the ring, David Benavidez was joined by Hall of Famer Mike Tyson and boxing star Ryan Garcia. When Benavidez and Zurdo entered the ring, fight fans expected a very thrilling battle.

The speed advantage was clear in the first round as Benavidez consistently landed keen jabs and some solid right hands. Benavidez ended the round by connecting with one of his signature rapid-fire combinations.

In the second round, most of the action took place in the pocket, as both boxers were able to land robust punches. Once again, in the final seconds of the round, Benavidez landed another rapid-fire combination.

Early in the third round, southpaw Zurdo Ramirez had some success establishing his jab. However, after the first minute of action, Benavidez took control of the round with a catch and shot.

The fourth round was the beginning of the end for defending champion Zurdo Ramirez. Benavidez spent most of the fourth round knocking Ramirez down, landing ponderous punches to the body and head.

With ten seconds left in the fourth period, Benavidez fired a series of shots that sent Ramirez falling to the canvas. Ramirez was able to stand when the bell rang, officially ending round four.

With a broken nose and severe swelling around his right eye, Zurdo Ramirez bravely continued to stand in the pocket and fight. In the last 12 seconds of round 6, Benavidez fired another rapid series of shots.

Zurdo Ramirez dropped to a knee and was counted out, and Benavidez scored a historic victory. With the victory, David Benavidez became the first boxer in history to win world titles at 168, 175 and cruiserweight.

After an extremely impressive performance, recent unified WBO and WBA cruiserweight champion David Benavidez (32-0, 26 KO) presented his case for the top spot on the pound-for-pound list.

In addition to his position on the pound-for-pound list, Benavidez could solidify his position as the recent face of the Cinco de Mayo weekend. Boxing legend Canelo Alvarez has been holding off this date for quite some time.

After his performance on Saturday night, it appears that Cinco de Mayo weekend now belongs to David Benavidez. If Canelo resists passing the torch, perhaps he can prove his point during the 2027 edition of Cinco de Mayo.

After dominating Zurdo Ramirez, recent unified cruiserweight world champion David Benavidez took a moment to call out Canelo Alvarez.

“I saw Canelo in the building. Hey, let me ask the fans, do you want to see Canelo vs. David Benavidez?”

The crowd responded to this question with a clamorous roar of approval. David Benavidez doesn’t want to leave the Canelo vs. Benavidez fight on the table, but given his history of avoiding this particular fight, Canelo doesn’t seem to mind leaving the fight immediately on the table.

Realistically, David Benavidez wants to enhance his legacy and has plenty of legitimate options available to him. He could stay at cruiserweight and fight Jai Opetaia, or move back to 175 pounds and fight Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev.

This weekend in Las Vegas, David Benavidez achieved the best result of his career, significantly increasing his weight and becoming the first man to stop Gilberto Ramirez.

Benavidez competed just twice at airy heavyweight before signing a deal for a unified cruiserweight title fight against “Zurdo” Ramirez, known for his endurance and fortitude.

Despite gaining over 20 pounds since his last competition, the 29-year-old star retained his hand speed and devastating style, allowing him to drop Ramirez twice en route to break in the sixth roundbecoming a champion in three weight classes and climbing the rankings pound for pound.

I keep talking X after watching the fight, four-division champion Shakur Stevenson praised Benavidez and then supported the fight against Dmitry Bivol.

“Benavidez is everything he says he is, great respect for him and his ability. I would love to see Bivol get back to 100 percent and fight this fight.

Benavidez wants this fight too, putting the Russian number one on his hit list. According to promoter Eddie Hearn, who represents Bivol, preliminary discussions have already taken place and both parties are interested in moving forward.

However, there is an obstacle in the form of Artur Beterbiev. Hearn pointed out that there is a “loose agreement” on a trilogy fight with Beterbiev, who beat Bivol in the first meeting and then lost the rematch, which will take priority if called upon.

With three belts in two divisions, Benavidez will have no shortage of options, although he thought he would soon have to decide what weight he wanted to fight at next.

David Benavidez has set the conditions for winning the cruiserweight titles: fight him outside of Zuffa or forget about the shot after crashing Gilberto Ramirez in Las Vegas.

“If he wants to do that fight, we can make it happen… We can’t make it so there are no fights there,” Benavidez said of rival Jai Opetai at the post-fight press conference for his devastating sixth-round stoppage.

Benavidez detailed the situation with Opetaia and the current policy of the Zuffa league: “I don’t know why [Opetaia] he went to Zuffa. We could have had this fight right after this one. I don’t know if he was stripped down by the IBF and what he is or isn’t. I’m not even going there – I’m not fighting for the Zuffa title.”

He continued: “But I mean, I don’t know. I think I’ll definitely fight him in the future,” Benavidez said.

“I respect Opetaia; I think he’s a great fighter. He needs to come back here [away from Zuffa] for these fights to take place.”

“I think everyone knows what this is about. There’s just a lot of politics involved, you know?”

Zuffa Fighters face title locks

Zuffa began to acquire a number of former champions and cruiserweight title challengers. Jai Opetaia was the title holder until he entered the format and was stripped of the title for fighting for the Zuffa belt.

Brandon Glanton, Ryan Rozicki and former WBO leader Chris Billam-Smith also joined the fight.

Benavidez warned that the league format could limit opportunities: “Dana White showed he didn’t want to fight PBC. He didn’t.

“I don’t even want to feel – I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but it’s just… that’s what it looks like from the outside.”

Consequences for future matchups

The implications are clear: opportunities for Zuffa fighters to fight for sanctioned titles may be confined, while PBC-sanctioned fights will become the only viable path to defeating Benavidez.

Benavidez’s post-fight remarks draw a clear line: challengers must go beyond Zuffa to earn a legitimate shot at the title, meaning future matchups in the division and the scope of potential championship opportunities will face obstacles or uncertainty.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a seasoned boxing reporter with over 15 years of experience. Since 2010, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives and reported in-ring performances. Read the full biography.