Bradley overlooks Opetaia threat in Benavidez 175 claim

Tim Bradley says David Benavidez is “don’t come back” to 175 after moving up to cruiserweight to fight WBA and WBO champion Gilberto Zurdo Ramirez on May 2, 2026. He believes that Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) will not return to light heavyweight to try to fight Artur Beterbiev or Dmitri Bivol.

It’s going to be physically too difficult for ‘The Mexican’ Monster’ Benavidez to drop all that weight after fighting Zurdo (48-1, 30 KOs) at 200 pounds.

Why Cruiserweight Is Not Safe For Benavidez

What Bradley overlooks is that Benavidez is fleeing the 175-lb division under pressure to fight the King of the weight class, Jai Opetaia. He is extremely dangerous with one hit power and destroys easily hit fighters without any defense.

The way Benavidez fights, going face-first into punches, won’t work against Jai. We saw what happened to Benavidez when he fought David Morrell last February. His face was a complete mess from the Cuban’s power punches.

Benavidez had the look of a person shot with a dart gun last Saturday night when asked if he would fight IBF champion Opetaia after taking on Ramirez at cruiserweight. There was no mistaking the look of shock and fear in Benavidez’s eyes when asked if he would fight Jai.

Fear will be the catalyst for Benavidez to find a way to drain back down to 175 if he wants no part of fighting Opetaia after clashing with Gilberto in May 2026.

After moving up to light heavyweight in 2024, Benavidez said he could not return to 168 when asked if he would be willing to fight undisputed super middleweight champion Terence Crawford after defeating Canelo Alvarez on September 13.

“Once he gets to 190, he doesn’t come back. And I’ll tell you this, that Zurdo fight is not an easy fight,” Tim Bradley said Battle hype on David Benavidez not returning to 175 after moving up to the 200-lb division at cruiserweight for his fight against unified champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez in 2026.

175 might become Benavidez’s escape route

Even if Benavidez wanted to return to 175, he might not have a reason to if the fights against Bivol or Beterbiev aren’t available to him for whatever reason. These two have yet to fight in their trilogy. They deal with injuries and get older. Being put off another year by those two would make it nearly impossible for Benavidez to melt back to fighting at light heavyweight after being at cruiserweight.

“Zurdo can box. He comes with his own bulk. Remember, Zurdo also came down from 168 lbs. So, he’s got some hand speed, some boxing ability, and he’s a southpaw just as big as he is. And he’s been established in this weight class (cruiserweight) for quite some time. He can take a punch, even at that. I don’t think that easy,” the difficulty Benavidez will have in fighting Ramirez.

Gilberto will not be an easy out for WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez, as he was last Saturday night in his seventh round knockout victory over Anthony Yarde (27-4, 24 KOs) on November 22nd at the ANB Arena in Riyadh. Ramirez can fight, has size, power, a high work rate and mobility. He has it all.