Benavidez amped up for cruiserweight debut on May 2nd
David Benavidez has accomplished a few accolades in his pro career, including being the youngest super middleweight champion ever and holding world titles in two weight classes. On May 2nd he hopes to add to what he has already done by becoming a unified champion in another weight class.
Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) will have his first bout in the cruiserweight division against WBA and WBO champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in the main event of a PBC on Prime PPV telecast at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Benavidez is the WBC and WBA champion at light heavyweight, and is riding the momentum of his wins in 2025 over David Morrell Jr. and Anthony Yarde. Now he has the opportunity to capture the WBA and WBO titles in the cruiserweight division with a victory over Ramirez. He has been viewed as a top ten pound for pound talent, and a win could have him climb those rankings.
“Continuing to move up and challenge world champions shows everyone that I’m serious about what I do, and that I believe in my skills 100%,” Benavidez said. “At this point in my life, I just want to reach greatness. Winning these titles will definitely put me back in position to continue to push for more greatness.”
Recently he completed his training which took place in Miami then in Las Vegas before fight week. Since this fight against Ramirez is at cruiserweight, Benavidez did not have worry much about getting his weight down. As a result, he feels great going into May 2nd.
“When you cut weight you’re running like seven miles every single day. Right now I don’t have to run at all. I don’t have to deplete myself, and I can use that extra energy in the fight.”
“Training is always gonna be hard, but I got to the weight a week ago. I’ve never been in a position where I don’t have to worry about the weight, and that’s gonna make me more dangerous.”
With the combination of the added weight and the speed that Benavidez has, he is confident that he will be the best version of himself.
“Once you get to this weight, the punches are bigger. When you combine that power with my speed, I bring something to the cruiserweight division that hasn’t been seen since James Toney. My speed is superb and it’s just on a different level. This is gonna be the best David Benavidez that you see.”
Many are looking forward to what Benavidez has in store for Ramirez on Saturday night, and if he gets the win he could potentially go after glory in the heavyweight division. However, he feels like there is some unfinished business back at light heavyweight.
“A heavyweight title would be great for my legacy, but I’m not interested in that right now,” said Benavidez. “I definitely think heavyweight is in my future, but not at this time. If I go up to heavyweight, that will be later in my career. I want to go back down to 175 and win all the rest of the belts and reign there for a little bit.”
Photos by James Bell for The Boxing Source
