For several decades in the boxing world, Cinco De Mayo fight cards in Las Vegas are highly anticipated cards with the biggest stars, drawing huge audiences. This year, the big men will be in the big fight in the cruiserweight division: Benavidez vs Zurdo.
In an all-Mexican flavor showdown, undefeated two-division world champion and Mexican superstar David “El Monstro” Benavidez and unified WBA and WBO World Cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez of Mexico met to officially announce their showdown in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 2 at the T-Mobile Arena.
Fans can watch the pay-per-view on PBC on Prime Video. Pre-sale tickets are available Tuesday, February 24, from 10 a.m. PT until 10 p.m. PT through AXS.com with the codes: PBC or GBP.
Benavidez vs Zurdo will be a Mexico vs. Mexico showdown on one of boxing’s premier weekends, featuring two fighters with a combined record of 79-1, with 55 knockouts, including Benavidez’s first light heavyweight knockout in November.
Benavidez and Ramirez know each other well as regular sparring partners, and have long talked about moving their exciting gym wars into the arena. Now they get their chance. Their enthusiasm was real.
The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Sampson Boxing, in association with TGB Promotions.
David Benavidez: “Two Mexican Warriors Going For the Title”
“This is something I’ve been working toward for a long time,” said Benavidez. “I feel like I’m on the cusp of being the face of boxing. And if Zurdo wins, his stock goes up. There’s greatness on the other side of that tunnel for both of us. So we’re gonna come extremely prepared.
“For the whole history of Cinco de Mayo fights, it’s been tremendous fighters like Oscar (De La Hoya) and (Julio Cesar) Chavez. Not just great fights, but wars. Because they never took easy fights. That’s what we’re doing. We’re two Mexican warriors going for the title.”
Benavidez had nothing but compliments for his familiar opponent. But it doesn’t mean he plans to take it easy on his friend.
“Zurdo is a top fighter. He’s a great fighter. I was helping him get ready for Arthur Abraham, and we had some great sessions. I knew he was gonna be one of those guys who would be around for a long time. Eventually, we were gonna do this.
“I’m gonna go in there and leave everything in the ring. I’m making sure I’m doing extra reps with anything and everything I do. That’s just the way I fight. I want to earn the fans’ respect and go in there and put on a great fight.”
Benavidez’s father and trainer, Jose Senior, promised his son would deliver an explosive fight.
Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez: “We’re Making History”
A smiling Zurdo Ramirez said he was glad to make “a huge fight.”
“I know Team Benavidez, they actually helped me a lot for my first world title fight. We’re gonna make this an exciting fight. At the end of the day, the titles are staying with Zurdo,” the champion promised. Benavidez insisted the belts would be his.
Like Benavidez, Ramirez said he knew this matchup would happen someday. Both men started their careers as super middleweights. Now, at cruiserweight, the fight comes together. “Right now is the right moment at 200 pounds. We’re going to feel comfortable and be at our best,” said Ramirez.
“He’s the Monster. He’s different. He used to beat up a lot of sparring partners. Now we’re here, we’re two warriors, and we’re making history.”
Ramirez’s longtime trainer, Julian Chua, said neither his team nor Team Benavidez is into trash talking, and there won’t be a need because the fight sells itself.
“I’ve seen them sparring up close, and those rounds were all pay-per-view worthy. Now, you layer on that it’s a real fight, the competitive nature that brought them both to where they are today, at its peak form, it will be there.
“This is gonna be a shootout and a great war. I don’t feel any pressure, because the way these guys are, it’s gonna be a great fight,” promised Chua.
Golden Boy Promotions chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya knows what it’s like to carry the banner for Mexican-style boxing, the first weekend in May. Last year, the matchup featured Japanese star Naoya Inoue. With two champions of Mexican heritage going toe to toe, it will be “extra special.”
“We have the first Mexican super middleweight and cruiserweight world champion on Cinco de Mayo in one corner in Zurdo Ramirez. And we know that Benavidez brings everything to the table, from round one to round twelve.
“I expect this to be a classic Mexican war,” a historic event, said De La Hoya. With 55 knockouts between them, De La Hoya guaranteed fans a show full of fistic fireworks.
Undercard matchups will be announced for Benavidez vs Zurdo at a later date.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.