David Benavidez will attempt to become a three-division world champion when he moves up to challenge WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on May 2 in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Monday.
The fight will likely take place at T-Mobile Arena, sources said.
Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs), who is No. 7 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings, retained his WBC light heavyweight title in November with a seventh-round stoppage of Anthony Yarde. Shortly after the win, Benavidez, who has won world titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight, announced his desire to challenge Ramirez.
Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) successfully defended his titles in June with a unanimous decision over former world champion Yuniel Dorticos. The only loss on the professional record of “Zurdo” came via unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol when he challenged for the WBA light heavyweight title in 2022, and he has won four straight fights since.
Benavidez, 29, has openly stated he wanted to take over fighting on both Cinco De Mayo weekend and Mexican Independence Day, two major fight weekend dates that were often held by Canelo Alvarez. With Canelo out of action due to surgery following his loss to Terence Crawford, Cinco De Mayo weekend was open for Benavidez to compete against Ramirez, a fellow Mexican.
