David Benavidez’s promoters at Sampson Boxing announced his next fight today against WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on May 2, 2026, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Why Zurdo?
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) is moving up to cruiserweight in search of his third-division world title against Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs). It’s a fight that keeps Benavidez busy, allowing him to get another payday and stay in the limelight.
Fans view it as a safe choice by Benavidez, 28, to pick up a sure-thing win against a beatable champion. They wanted him to challenge the King of the cruiserweight division, IBF champion Jai Opetaia. However, Benavidez preferred to fight Ramirez, which speaks volumes about his confidence.
Benavidez currently holds the WBC light heavyweight title and is coming off a seventh-round knockout win over Anthony Yarde on November 22nd. It was not the fight fans wanted to see from Benavidez, but it was what he was stuck with after his recent struggle against David Morrell. Turki Alalshikh reportedly chose Yarde.
Bivol–Beterbiev Angle
“The WBA has guaranteed us that David is the mandatory for the Bivol-Beterbiev winner,” said promoter Sampson Lewkowicz about David Benavidez being the mandatory for the winner of the rematch between unified three-belt light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
“Bivol will have to act like a ‘Russian Canelo’ and vacate another title to avoid facing David,” said Lewkowicz. “He doesn’t want to fight because he knows when they sparred, David put a beating on him and dropped him. He has zero chance of beating David. That I promise you, he has no power to keep David off him, and he will take a brutal beating!”
Weight Concerns
It’s going to be interesting to see if Benavidez can return to 175 without draining himself to a skeleton. He looked drawn and emaciated, making weight for his fight against Yarde. A sickly-looking Benavidez claimed after the weigh-in that it was “easy” for him to make weight, but his appearance told a different story.