Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez will not defend his WBA and WBO Cruiserweight titles against contender Robin Safar as planned on January 16.
Safar suffered a hand injury in his last fight in November and will not be able to challenge Ramirez for his titles next month. With the fight off, Ramirez will next face David Benavidez in May on Cinco de Mayo.
The injury could work in ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez’s favor as there is less risk of him getting injured which could delay his fight against ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez. He will need to be 100% healthy for him to hold onto his belts against the undefeated challenger.
Mike Coppinger reveals the day after Safar’s injury. The #4 WBO Safar will now fight Chris Billiam Smith or Ryan Rozicki next.
Ramirez has his game cut out for him to defeat Benavidez as he hasn’t looked like his usual dominant self in his last two fights against Yuniel Dorticos and Chris Billiam Smith. At 34, Ramirez is starting to show signs of wear and tear from a long 16-year career.
His promoters have been a good match for Gilberto since he turned pro, and he’s only fought one elite-level fighter in that time, losing to Dmitry Bivol in 2022. Going up against Benavidez will be a good test to see how much Ramirez has left.
‘Zurdo’ Ramirez has adapted his fighting style over the past year, from a slugger to a boxer. This helped him defeat Dorticos, Billiam-Smith and Arsen Goulamirian. Against Benavidez, Gilberto is going to have to do a lot more than box and move to win.
Benavidez looked powerful in his last fight, stopping Anthony Yarde in the seventh round last November. He used his volume style to knock out Yarde to get the knockout. Benavidez was willing to take Yarde’s best shots to deliver his own. It wasn’t easy, but ‘The Mexican Monster’ carried him to the stop.
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Last updated on 15/12/2025
