Ramirez vs Benitez Predictions: Robeisy’s rebuild starts here
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez will take on Brandon Benitez this Saturday, June 29. The fight takes place at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida on the undercard of Teofimo Lopez vs Steve Claggett. The event will be shown on Sky Sports Action.
Here are my Ramirez vs Benitez predictions as the Cuban stylist returns.
An Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016, Ramirez walked a well-worn path in 2018 when he defected from his native Cuba to pursue a then-banned professional career. Unlike most prospects with an Olympic background, Ramirez’s paid career did not exactly get off to a flier.
‘El Tren’ actually lost his first outing as a professional, dropping a four-round split decision to Adan Gonzales. An early flash knockdown ultimately swayed the scorecards. Ramirez’s conqueror has lost every fight since, including a rematch with Ramirez, which demonstrates the scale of the upset.
It looked for all the world like Ramirez had put that shocker behind him as he rattled off 13 consecutive victories. As well as avenging his sole defeat, the Cuban also took out the likes of world-ranked Abraham Nova and current European super featherweight champion Eric Donovan. Ramirez defeated Isaac Dogboe to net the vacant WBO crown which he then defended with a fifth-round TKO of Satoshi Shimizu.
But the old demons resurfaced last time out, as Ramirez lost his world featherweight title to Rafael Espinoza in a mammoth upset. The challenger was unbeaten but had never mixed at the elite level. The Mexican took the step-up in his stride as he outpointed Ramirez to clinch a majority decision.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum has already talked up a rematch between the pair, offering an opportunity for Ramirez to reclaim his lost championship. Espinoza kept his end of the bargain in a dominant fourth-round TKO win over Sergio Chirino Sanchez last weekend. Now Ramirez must excel here to keep the lucrative rematch alive.
Brandon Benitez is the other half of Saturday’s equation. The 21-2 Mexican has a standout win over former world champion Xu Can on his resume. His seven-fight winning streak has caught the attention of the sanctioning bodies. Benitez is ranked sixth with the WBO and seventh by the IBF.
The 26-year-old ‘Leoncito’ is a heavy underdog here, but Benitez has earned this opportunity. Having proven himself at fringe level, a crack at a genuine world class fighter like Ramirez is fair game. His chance of victory seems remote, but starry-eyed boxers have done far more with far less.
You imagine Benitez might have been better off fighting Ramirez after a win rather than a loss. The Cuban is prone to losses of concentration, which have contributed at least partly to his twin-defeats. But you get the impression, as with his loss to Gonzales, that Ramirez will take this opportunity to recalibrate. I would venture that the 30-year-old has never been less likely to sleepwalk through a fight. Bad news for Benitez.
Ramirez is a mammoth 1/33 to get the job done here. The implied probability figure of 97.1% tells you all you need to know. That is probably the same percentage chance Rocky Balboa had in the first Apollo Creed fight.
If you fancy a punt on long-shot ‘Leoncito’ he is available at 10/1 or 9.1% in terms of implied probability. That isn’t a terrible bet considering the fact Ramirez is prone to lapses and Benitez is a genuinely decent fighter. Stranger things have happened.
You can back the draw at 18/1 if you’re feeling brave. That’s a 5.3% chance for the daredevils amongst you.
Ramirez vs Benitez Full Card
Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Claggett for Lopez's WBO super lightweight title
Robeisy Ramirez vs. Brandon Leon Benitez; Featherweight
Yan Santana vs. Brandon Valdes; Featherweight
Rohan Polanco vs. Luis Hernandez Ramos; Welterweight
Nico Ali Walsh vs. Sona Akale; Middleweight
Euri Cedeno vs. Dormedes Potes; Middleweight
Lorenzo Medina vs. Colby Madison: Heavyweight
Bryan Polaco vs. Richard Acevedo; Middleweight
Ramirez vs Benitez Predictions
I think Ramirez will be back to his best here. Benitez is decent but he has also been stopped twice. Neither of the men who halted him were Olympic legends or former world champions. ‘El Tren’ has got his periodic loss of focus out of his system. We are about to witness the real deal.
For those reasons, I am going for Ramirez by knockout. With 2/7 not standing out as great value for the anytime stoppage, I’m going to pick ‘El Tren’ to get the job done in round seven at 8/1. I just feel like the Cuban is more than capable of turning on the style and finding levels Benitez cannot approach.
You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page
Share Article
