Zurdo Ramirez discharged, eye swelling improving after KO

Ramirez says eye swelling is improving after sixth-round defeat

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez has been released from the hospital following his stoppage loss to David Benavidez. He said the swelling around his right eye is already improving.

ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez reported that Ramirez was discharged Saturday afternoon and is feeling well. The swelling around his right eye has already started to go down after the sixth-round stoppage.

“I’m doing well after being discharged from the hospital this afternoon. The swelling, mainly of the right eye, is subsiding very well,” Ramirez said.

When a fighter has been undefeated for 40+ fights and finally gets stopped, finding a “reason” outside of the punches is almost a reflex. Calling out a specific elbow feels like a way to rationalize why the eye closed up or why the finish happened the way it did.

It is a tough pill to swallow for Ramirez, especially after seeing the Compubox numbers. Benavidez landed 151 punches to his 89 and was connecting on over 56% of his power shots. Even if there was an incidental elbow in the sixth, the “shredder” was already at work well before that.

The fact that Zurdo is focusing on that one moment rather than the overall accumulation of punishment definitely points toward a “moral victory” or an excuse rather than an objective look at the beating he took.

“Within that bad taste in the mouth, the elbow that David gave me in that final combination also remains,” Ramirez said.

The fight was stopped in the sixth round after sustained pressure left Ramirez with significant swelling and visible damage around the right eye. The ringside doctor examined him before the bout was waved off, marking the first stoppage loss of his career.

Ramirez had never been stopped or even knocked down in nearly 50 fights, but Benavidez treated him like a heavy bag with a heartbeat. By the time the right eye was shutting in the fifth, the writing was on the wall.

It was a complete shutout on the scorecards, and the fourth-round knockdown was just the beginning of the end. Benavidez was landing nearly 60% of his power shots. Whether an elbow grazed him or not, the “Mexican Monster” had already done the damage.

Ramirez’s early release from the hospital suggests no serious long-term injury, with his condition already improving less than 24 hours after the bout.

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