David Benavidez delivered a truly star-making performance in Las Vegas, becoming the first man to stop Gilberto Ramirez and a three-weight world champion in the process.
The jump from light-heavyweight to cruiserweight is a big one, but ‘El Monstro’ managed to keep his blistering hand speed and punishing pressure when making it. Ramirez fought bravely, but his come-forward approach only served to play into the Benavidez’s hands, who scored knockdowns in the fourth and sixth to force a dramatic stoppage with Ramirez unable to see out of one eye.
Post-fight, Cinco De Mayo’s new superstar wasted little time in calling out Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who had been ringside earlier in the night to support stablemate Jaime Munguia.
“Nobody can f**k with me … I feel good, man. I just want to give fans what they want to see. I seen Canelo in the building. Let me just ask the fans this: do you guys want to see Canelo versus David Benavidez? Enough said. That means we can’t leave this fight on the table.
“I have respect for Canelo, he’s a great champion, but I’m a great champion, too. I don’t know [if it’s realistic], I’m champion at 200 and 175 – if they want to come get it at 175, let’s get it at 175.”
Despite the fan encouragement, the one man who can make the fight happen, Alvarez, has dismissed the idea for years now. He returns to the ring this September at super-middleweight – a division Benavidez can no longer realistically compete in due to his significant gains in size.
Perhaps knowing that the fight is unlikely, with Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso just this week saying the chance has passed, Benavidez then reiterated his desire to drop back down to light-heavyweight for an undisputed title fight with WBO, WBA and IBF champion Dmitry Bivol.
“Bivol is number one on my hit list.”
It is a far more plausible fight, with the Russian name-checking Benavidez on his own hit list recently. It also happens to be one of the most intriguing match-ups in the sport, and would, after the Ramirez win, feature one of the most exciting fighters competing today.
