David Benavidez Uses Ramirez Fight as Bridge to 175

David Benavidez is taking the long way to the biggest fights because waiting has already failed him once.

The unbeaten two division titleholder will move up again on May 2 to face unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez in Las Vegas. The bout headlines a pre Cinco de Mayo card and represents a deliberate choice by Benavidez to chase recognizable opponents rather than sit idle while larger fights stall.

Benavidez has made clear this is a temporary move. He is not abandoning light heavyweight. He is using cruiserweight as a way to secure a major name and another set of belts while the top of the 175 pound division sorts itself out.

“I’m going up specifically for that fight,” Benavidez said during a recent appearance in the Phoenix area. “But I’m coming back down after that. Instead of waiting, I’m moving up to get a recognizable name.”

The plan after Ramirez is direct. Benavidez wants Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Both hold stature. Both represent the highest level at light heavyweight. Benavidez believes he belongs in that group and intends to prove it.

His insistence on staying active is shaped by experience. At super middleweight, Benavidez twice held versions of the WBC title but never secured the one fight that defined the division. Saul Alvarez unified the belts while Benavidez waited as mandatory and interim champion. The sanctioning body never forced the bout. By the time Benavidez accepted it was not happening, years had passed.

Rather than repeat that cycle, he moved up in 2024 and immediately put himself into position. He defeated Oleksandr Gvozdyk to claim the WBC interim title, then chose a riskier route by facing David Morrell instead of waiting for paperwork to settle. The win kept him in line for the winner of Bivol vs Beterbiev.

When Bivol later vacated the WBC belt, Benavidez became a full titleholder without a fight. It gave him status but not satisfaction.

“I’m here to become undisputed champion,” Benavidez said. “I want all the belts at light heavyweight.”

The Ramirez fight is the bridge. It adds scale, visibility, and urgency. After that, Benavidez expects the division’s best to deal with him directly, not later, and not on someone else’s schedule.