David Benavidez Next Fight: ‘Mexican Monster’ makes cruiserweight move

WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez retained his title in brutal fashion with a seventh-round stoppage of Anthony Yarde on November 22. The Riyadh headliner saw ‘The Mexican Monster’ tame ‘The Beast from the East’ in decisive fashion.

In the aftermath, Benavidez was crystal clear on his next move. Read on to find out more about David Benavidez’s next fight.

Benavidez was expected to at least suffer a scare or two in Saudi. Despite losing in two previous title tilts, Yarde had always roughed up the world champions he’d faced. Divisional legends Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev had both tasted the Brit’s power.

But Benavidez overwhelmed Yarde, throwing far too many punches for the Brit to swallow. The Mexican-American’s boundless energy left ‘The Beast from the East’ looking for single shots from the second round onwards. That is a recipe for disaster against Benavidez, who has fearsome combination punching.

Often at the conclusion of a world title fight, the champion calls out a laundry list of names to further his reign. But Benavidez was laser-focused in the aftermath, with one name on his lips.

Boxing Odds

"This feels amazing. I'm really happy with this. I've got some news. May 2, Zurdo Ramirez, I'm going up to challenge for his title." These were Benavidez’s words after the fight. It was surprising for two reasons. One was the divisional jump. The other was the certainty over the date.

When speaking to any boxer before a fight, they will tell you the same thing. Each promises they cannot afford to look beyond their current opponent. It is what you’re meant to say. It is respectful. But the truth is, plenty of fighters have a path post-fight. Benavidez left no doubt as to where he will turn next. 

On some level it is surprising. The 28-year-old only stepped up to light heavyweight 17 months ago, after claiming two WBC world titles at super middleweight. During Benavidez’s spell in the 175-pound division, two men have ruled the roost. Current WBA, IBF, WBO and The Ring kingpin Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev have each reigned as undisputed champion during that period. Beterbiev unified the four belt crown in their classic first fight before Bivol took it from him in their thrilling rematch.

The impatient WBC stripped Bivol for pursuing a trilogy fight which ultimately never came to fruition, upgrading the interim belt Benavidez won against Oleksandr Gvozdyk to the full shebang. But with all due respect to the excellent Arizona-born boxer, he has never been the true champion of this division.

With Bivol and Beterbiev stalling and finger-pointing over concluding their rivalry, surely the time was now for Benavidez to throw his hat in the ring? To tell the two inactive Russian legends that he is the only light heavyweight champion actively fighting while they are stuck at the negotiating table? But no such statement came. Not for want of trying from Beterbiev, who called out the WBC boss on X after the fight.

But instead, Benavidez jets off to cruiserweight for a fight next spring with WBA and WBO champ Gilberto Ramirez. A bout with ‘Zurdo’ does make some semblance of sense. Like Benavidez, he is a former world super middleweight champion. Therefore the size differential is not an issue like it would be with IBF and The Ring kingpin Jai Opetaia. Ramirez is also fallible, albeit only the supreme Bivol has beaten him.

Stylistically the match-up is interesting. ‘Zurdo’ is a volume puncher, just like Benavidez. The parallels really make this one a fascinating clash of styles. Benavidez will be emboldened by the fact that, despite winning two world titles, Ramirez is yet to score a knockout at 200lbs. 

Like his light heavyweight foray, it does feel calculated from Benavidez. A box-ticking exercise to become a three-weight world champion. Taking nothing away from ‘La Bandera Roja’, but despite winning three WBC titles across two weights, he has never reigned as lineal or The Ring champion in a division. Opetaia holds those distinctions at cruiserweight. Therefore in the eyes of the traditionalists, even in victory Benavidez will have never truly been the champion of the world at any weight.

But this is modern boxing. The ‘four-belt’ era as we are frequently told. Snagging belts from super middleweight to cruiserweight is still a massive achievement. A win over ‘Zurdo’ would be a huge name on Benavidez’s impressive resume. But one cannot help but shed a metaphorical tear over how special Benavidez against Bivol or Beterbiev could have been.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.