Ramirez Camp Offers No Clear Path to Upset Over Benavidez

Julian Chua had no answer worth hearing when asked how his fighter beats David Benavidez. The unified cruiserweight champion's trainer, pressed during Thursday's MGM Grand presser, offered only this: Gilberto Ramirez is Zurdo Ramirez. That was it.

Ring Magazine's Keith Idec described the response as perplexing, maybe revealing. Ramirez holds two belts at 200 pounds and sits as The Ring's top contender for Jai Opetaia's crown after dominating Chris Billam-Smith and Arsen Goulamirian in 2024. But the Mexican southpaw has never beaten an elite opponent, and the one time he stepped up against pound-for-pound talent, Dmitry Bivol handled him without much trouble in November 2022.

Why Benavidez Opened as Heavy Favorite Despite Weight Jump

Benavidez is climbing 25 pounds from heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight for Saturday's T-Mobile Arena main event, yet oddsmakers installed him as at least a 4-1 favorite. The unbeaten former middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super middleweight titlist pushed Oscar De La Hoya to make this fight for two years because he saw Ramirez as manageable business, a stopover before legacy bouts with Bivol back at 175. Hundreds of sparring rounds convinced Benavidez the size gap would not be a problem.

Ramirez is durable and will be the bigger man for the first time in Benavidez's 12-year pro run. But the 34-year-old Mexican is significantly slower and has not scored a knockdown in four cruiserweight outings. De La Hoya predicted Ramirez would land "a haymaker" to turn the fight, a thin reed to hang an upset on when facing the seventh-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Ramirez's only loss came against Bivol, ranked fifth on that same list, and he is a unified champion in a division new to the 29-year-old Benavidez. But even his promoter could not sketch a credible scenario beyond hope for one big punch. The fight serves Benavidez's plan to own the Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day slots in Las Vegas. Ramirez, 48-1 with 30 knockouts, gets his biggest payday and a shot at an improbable win.

The weigh-in is set for Friday afternoon in Las Vegas, with the pay-per-view card beginning Saturday evening.

Source: ringmagazine.com