David Benavidez imposed himself from the opening bell, forcing a sixth-round TKO over Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez to win the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles in the main event.
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Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) established control early with a sharp jab and steady bodywork, then loaded in combinations and uppercuts that supported Ramirez (48-2) and limited his offense. The match was stopped at 2:59 of round six by referee Thomas Taylor.
The pressure and accuracy started to show by the middle rounds, with Ramirez’s left eye swelling and his nose bleeding as his output dropped and he struggled to see the shots coming. Benavidez stayed on him without giving any space and piled on clean punches until the referee stopped the fight after Ramirez could no longer defend effectively.
It seemed like a total loss of visibility and momentum. When the eye swells to that extent, a fighter’s depth perception disappears, making those lightning-quick combinations from Benavidez seem even more inevitable.
Benavidez remained incredibly disciplined, specifically in the damaged areas. Once the nose went and the breathing became labored, Ramirez seemed to realize he was just a stationary target for a guy who wouldn’t stop throwing. Taking a knee was a veteran’s survival instinct kicking in as the hand speed difference made it impossible for him to time anything back.
There is a fine line between a fighter who “quits” and a corner or athlete who recognizes a lost cause to save their career for another day. Ramirez has a lot of mileage on the clock, and standing there to take yet more unanswered power shots from a puncher like Benavidez could have resulted in permanent damage.
The speed gap was the real story here; if you can’t see the shots coming and you don’t have the footwork to escape, the fight is effectively over long before the referee officially calls it off.
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Last updated on 2026/05/03 at 01:32
