Oscar De La Hoya had plenty to say after David Benavidez stopped Gilberto Ramirez to become a three-weight world champion on Saturday.
Benavidez proved that he was capable of carrying his power up to 200lbs as he claimed the sixth round win over Ramirez to capture the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It was a performance that has made the entire boxing world take notice, with ‘The Mexican Monster’ also still in possession of the WBC light heavyweight title, while he has previously reigned as world champion at 168lbs too.
De La Hoya serves as Ramirez’s promoter so was ringside on Saturday to watch the action unfold, and though he may have wanted his man to come out on top, he admitted to Fight Hub TV that it was a masterful performance from Benavidez.
“Beautiful. The buzzsaw of Benavidez, punches in bunches, and the only shot that Zurdo had was to throw a punch right in the centre. The speed was too much, Benavidez was too much, The Monster is here for a long time. Very proud of him.”
Benavidez is now expected to drop back down to 175lbs for his next fight, and De La Hoya also revealed what he thinks should be next for ‘The Mexican Monster.’
“He’s got many options. I think right now he is the man at that weight class. Whoever is going to fight him has to wait in line…Benavidez right now is the man.”
Most fans would like to see an undisputed showdown with unified light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol take place next, but first the Russian goes up against Michael Eifert at the UGMK Arena in Ekaterinburg, Russia on May 30.
