Two-weight world boxing champion David Benavidez has laid out his ideal three-fight plan for the coming 18 months.
The 29-year-old has risen through the pound-for-pound list to become one of the best fighters on the planet after beating Calen Plant and Demtrius Andrade at super middleweight, and David Morrell and Anthony Yarde at light heavyweight.
He has done so while actively campaigning for a bout with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, and one of Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev, but while those fights fail to materialize, he has sought the best matches he can make, and appears set to continue that trend regardless of whether he stays at 175 pounds, or moves north to the cruiserweight division.
Speaking on The Danza Project, Benavidez said: “For the bouts we’re looking at, and we’ve been talking to the promoters and I’m going to make it happen, 100%.
“I’m going to fight [Gilberto] ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, then come down and make that fight with Bivol and after that we’re fighting Beterbiev.”
Following his victory over Yarde, Benavidez himself announced the fight was going to happen. “I got news for everyone,” he said. “May 2 — me versus ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez. I’m going up to cruiserweight.”
Ramirez, meanwhile, was linked with a tune-up fight in Palm Springs, Southern California, earlier this year but it was suggested ‘Zurdo’ bypassed that to head straight into the box office bout with the 175-pound slugger.
Though Benavidez vs Ramirez is not official, TGB Promotions — which has organized some of Benavidez’s bouts in the US — has a commission hold for a boxing event on May 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Benavidez, Ramirez, and TGB, though, have competition for that date, but no the venue, as Boxing Social understands Matchroom, too, has a commission hold for that date.
Per the Nevada State Athletic Commission calendar, Matchroom doesn’t have an arena reserved. Should TGB push through with their T-Mobile Arena event, Matchroom, if it were to continue with a Las Vegas show on Cinco de Mayo, would have to head to either the MGM Grand Garden Arena, or the Michelob Ultra Arena.
