David Benavidez demolishes Zurdo Ramirez, calls out Canelo Alvarez
By Eddie Sanchez
On Saturday night, Benavidez (32-0) faced off against Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (48-2) for his unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles, and “The Mexican Monster” made the most of the big moment, demolishing Zurdo en route to a sixth-round knockout.
Benavidez weighed in well under the 200-pound cruiserweight limit for this fight, and looked noticeably smaller than Zurdo to start the bout, though this mattered very little on fight night.
Ramirez had no answer for the hand speed of Benavidez, who, on several occasions, hit Zurdo with eight or more punches in combination. Benavidez’s power carried up to cruiserweight, as he continued to stun Zurdo.
Things looked like they might be over in the fourth round, when Benavidez hammered Ramirez with heavy shots, forcing the champion to take a knee with just seconds left in the round. Zurdo beat the count and proved his championship mettle, slugging it out with Benavidez in the fifth and holding his own. In the sixth, Benavidez continued to chop away, and near the end of the round, another lightning combination, plus some heavy hooks, appeared to damage Zurdo’s already busted right eye, causing it to swell significantly. Zurdo took a knee, and when the ref approached, shook him off, offering Benavidez the victory.
Benavidez celebrated his big win by once again calling for a fight that has long eluded him: Canelo Alvarez.
For years, he has chased a fight with Canelo, the longtime face of Mexican boxing, but it never came to fruition. Alvarez was ringside for the action on Saturday, supporting Jaime Munguia, who won in the co-main event, and Benavidez took the opportunity to try once more for the fight both he and fans have wanted for some time.
About The Author
