Gilberto Ramirez has sparred Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez, both at different stages of his career, and credits one of them for hitting particularly hard.
Unified world cruiserweight champion Ramirez will face Benavidez on May 2, defending his WBO and WBA titles at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Since suffering his only professional blemish, a points loss to Dmitry Bivol in 2022, Ramirez has firmly cemented himself as an elite operator at 200lbs.
Consecutive victories over Arsen Goulamirian and Chris Billam-Smith saw him topple two world champions in 2024, before defending his titles via another unanimous decision, this time against Yuniel Dorticos, in June 2025.
Benavidez, meanwhile, secured two-division world title status last year after being upgraded from ‘interim’ to full WBC light-heavyweight, with Bivol having relinquished his belt.
The 29-year-old then made a maiden defence of his crown in November, stopping Anthony Yarde in round seven, which led to him negotiating a cruiserweight clash with Ramirez.
During his time as the WBC ‘interim’ champion at 168lbs, many felt that Canelo, the then-super-middleweight king, was avoiding a mandatory title defence against Benavidez.
But while we can only imagine how a matchup between Alvarez and Benavidez would unfold, Ramirez has kindly offered an insight into his sparring sessions with the both of them.
Speaking with Fight Hub TV, the 34-year-old hinted at the power being more apparent with Canelo than it was with his next opponent.
“[The sparring was] way different because Canelo is short and, at that time, I was [at] 168[lbs]. I was super skinny.
“Then I moved up [in weight] and moved to the US, and I started sparring with David and different guys – bigger guys.
“Canelo – he’s good. He has power; he has a lot of faints; he moves really well. And Benavidez, he presses you all the time; you don’t have time to breathe. You have to just keep going. And [Benavidez] likes to be [on the] inside.”
Ramirez shared rounds with Canelo during his reign as the WBO super-middleweight champion, while the Benavidez sparring seemingly came following his brief excursion to 175lbs.
