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 quick first punches at a heavy bag. That’s exactly how Benavidez fights, choosing to park himself in front of his opponents and let loose with machine gun combinations.
That style has worked for ‘The Mexican Monster’ so far, but he’s taken 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 wasn’t going to be quite as effective at 175. Morrell dropped Benavidez and hurt him twice. It was with the Cuban who only occasionally opened up with his shots. He mostly just cashed in during the 12-round fight.
If Benavidez does choose to rattle off combinations against Gilberto, he may yet regret it. This guy has power and experience, and he will take advantage of Benavidez if he fights recklessly.
Benavidez moves up from light heavyweight, where he holds the WBC title, to face Ramirez. He doesn’t do a tune-up to get used to the weight class. This could be a mistake as Benaivdez does not face 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,” David Benavidez said today. Instagramwho has already been working hard for his May 2, 2026, fight against unified dual belt cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
“Two more titles. I’m very excited. May 2, tune in.”
Benavidez was hit with big shots in his last fight against Anthony Yarde last November. He ended up striking out Yarde in the seventh, but he knew he was in for a fight after that.
The 29-year-old Benavidez is the younger fighter than the 34-year-old Ramirez. However, both fighters look at the same level physically. Ramirez looks like 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 seems to keep getting better.
Ramirez could cause an upset with his natural size advantage and counter punches. He’s also the more mobile of the two, and could make it difficult for Benavidez to get his offense in gear. Moving up in weight could work against Benavidez’s stamina as he will be bigger. He looked tired in his debut at 175 against Gvozdyk. One can only imagine what it will be like for him now at cruiserweight.
