Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez. “I Respect Him. We are friends but inside that ring, I will try to Knock Him Out”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgIlna6BZX8

WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) of Mazatlan, Mexico is in the final phases of his preparation for his cruiserweight showdown against undefeated two-division world champion David “El Monstro” Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs). The showdown takes place Saturday, May 2 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas headlining PBC Pay-Per-View on Prime Video. 

“I feel happy and ready. I’m so anxious I want the fight to take place now,” Zurdo told Fightnews.com “I’m so excited to headline this event. I believe we have the potential to give fans the ‘Fight of the Year’. While me and David Benavidez have sparred close to 200 rounds together over our careers, being in the ring for real is so much different. This will not just be a regular fight; this is going to be a war,” Zurdo added. 

Headlining the Festive Cinco de Mayo fight weekend, Zurdo now takes the stage fighting on the traditional fight weekend originating back to the days headlined by the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fight weekends. 

“Headlining Cinco de Mayo adds a lot of motivation for me. This date is for the legends of the sport. I’m ready to show everything I can do,” Zurdo Ramirez said about headlining the Cinco de Mayo weekend. “This card is full of can’t-miss Mexico vs. Mexico matches. We need this to be the fight of the year. It’s an important date and we need to live up to expectations,”

It has been a focused camp for Zurdo at the Brickhouse Boxing in North Hollywood, working with his trainer Julian Chua as the team prepares for Benavidez. 

“All fights have a risk. We prepared ourselves so that everything comes out in our favor,” Zurdo said about the preparation. “You need to make sure that you’re ready to add this much weight to your body when you move up from 175 pounds to cruiserweight like I did, and like he’s going to do for this fight. You must be confident in your body and listen to your body,”

Zurdo comes into this fight as the underdog riding a four-fight win streak since his only defeat to Dmitry Bivol back in 2022. Coming off a unanimous decision over Yunier Dorticos last June in Zurdo successfully defended his WBO title for first time as he won the title over Chris Billam Smith back in 2024. Zurdo also captured the WBA title early that year in March of 2024 with a decision win over Arsen Goulamarian. 

“I’m OK with being the underdog, I’m coming into this fight with momentum and upside. I’ll be ready for whatever David Benavidez brings,” Zurdo said. 

For the undefeated Benavidez, he scored a seventh-round stoppage over Anthony Yarde in his last fight this past November in Riyadh. Last year, he also scored a win over previously undefeated David Morrell. Benavidez comes into this fight attempting to win his third world title in his third weight divisions. Winning titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight as Benavidez now makes the jump to cruiserweight. 

“I respect him. We are friends but inside that ring, I will try to knock him out. I also want, what he wants. “Benavidez is bringing his aggression and forward style; I am bringing my movement. I think our styles will make for a great fight,” Ramirez said. 

Having previously shared training camps as stablemates, Zurdo and Benavidez friendship goes back to when David Benavidez was a teenager sparring the young up and coming professional prospect Zurdo. Ramirez talked about his days sparring with the young kid Benavidez. 

“The sparring with Benavidez happened a long time ago. Now we’re going to jump in there with smaller gloves and no headgear. It’s going to be very different on May 2. Everyone is going to see,” Zurdo recalled. 

It’s all or nothing from this point forward for Zurdo. What lies ahead is a step closer to a potential unification in attempt to become the undisputed cruiserweight champion. The division also includes WBC champion Noel Mikaelian as the IBF title currently sits vacant after it was vacated by undefeated Jai Opetaia in his quest for boxing’s equivalent to the “Million Dollar” belt, Zuffa title. 

“I would like to fight Opetaia but my focus is David Benavidez,” Ramirez on his desire to fight Jai Opetaia. 

With a win here against Benavidez, the likely scenario will be to pursue the WBC champion or fight for the vacant IBF title. The biggest obstacle will be a showdown with undefeated Jai Opetaia, not in the ring but outside the ring. The recently signed Zuffa fighter and former IBF champion created an obstacle for that matchup as Zuffa President Dana White has made it clear he won’t be matching up any of his fighters with champions from the current sanctioning bodies.

“If things go well against Benavidez, of course I’m open to the possibility of fighting Opetaia,” Zurdo said. 

The road begins next week against Benavidez as Zurdo Ramirez looks to add to his legacy.

“Expect a good fight, the fans will be the ones that win,” Ramirez promised. 

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