Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez-David Benavidez is a very good fight.
It’s also a fight worthy of the occasion of Cinco de Mayo – the Hispanic and Mexican fight fans will gravitate to it and help uphold the traditions of Cinco de Mayo that were often lost while Floyd Mayweather was at his peak.
Both are championship-level fighters with entertaining styles and exceptional records. There’s also an added element of drama and jeopardy involved in them being matched that surrounds whether Benavidez can continue his run of form into another weight division against such an established cruiserweight.
Benavidez is favoured to win a little too much – the extent to which Ramirez is the underdog doesn’t do Ramirez justice.
Ramirez and Benavidez – even on the occasion of Benavidez’s debut at cruiserweight – represent the world’s second and third best cruiserweights. Only Jai Opetaia could be favoured to beat them both. It’s a 60-40, 55-45 match-up in Benavidez’s favour, but it seems to be getting overlooked that Ramirez has only got one loss, and that that was against Dmitry Bivol.
If there are two things in particular that Benavidez has in his favour it’s that Ramirez is 34 years old and that Benavidez has such momentum that he makes a statement every time he fights. But Ramirez is another step up – making the statement Benavidez did against Anthony Yarde was impressive, but Yarde isn’t the level of fighter Ramirez is. But if he beats Ramirez in similar fashion, the world will be forced to sit up and take notice. For both it would be their biggest win.
Ramirez has become a big cruiserweight, is proven from his southpaw stance, technically sound, a good body puncher, intelligent, and consistent.
But at the highest level he’s perhaps a little slow, and certainly one-paced. In his defeat by Bivol he also showed that when he’s confused he struggles to adjust. It might be difficult for an opponent to outclass him, but on the one occasion one has, adjustments were beyond his reach. If Benavidez builds an early lead, will Ramirez provide him with stiffer resistance or will Benavidez pull away on the scorecards? It may also prove relevant that Bivol glides in and out and pulls the trigger so effectively when he changes range; Benavidez is more of a destroyer; he’s slower on his feet and instead of changing range will seek to close the gap.
Benavidez is an intense combination puncher who relentlessly pressures his opponents and has a dogged determination to be great. He has a big chip on his shoulder when he fights which is him striving for the credibility he wants, and which makes him ruthless, and he also has an underrated defence, particularly in the positioning of his hands. He’s very hard to hurt and to deter.
Against that he can square up a little too much, and sometimes crosses his feet, which can stop him throwing the punches he wants when he’s within range of his target.
Even without him having previously fought at cruiserweight it’s become hard to doubt him, because he’s looked sensational every time he’s fought. If he wins another one-sided fight, the next question will be whether he can beat Opetaia, but while Opetaia might yet be too big and too strong for him, Ramirez is, like Benavidez, a former super middleweight, so it won’t necessarily become clear how much potential Benavidez has above 175lbs.
Benavidez’s intensity, consistency and combination punching, against an older opponent, represent his key to victory. Ramirez will be hard to stop, but Benavidez – 29 years old – might be capable of overwhelming him and making him reluctant to throw.
Ramirez has to offset Benavidez. He also has to catch him on his way inside; frustrate him, and punish his attempts to fight with intensity and throw punches in combination. He has to make Benavidez doubt himself – which no one has succeeded in doing. When Benavidez lets his hands go he does so ruthlessly and without any doubt in his mind; it’s when fighters pay a price for fighting like that that they start to second-guess themselves and their intensity eases. If Ramirez can reduce Benavidez’s intensity he’ll have his greatest chance of success.
Benavidez has to start fast – which is what I expect to happen in the opening rounds. He has to set the tone and prove not only that he belongs in the ring with one of the world’s leading cruiserweights, but that he can dominate him. If he does so, the question will be whether Ramirez can adjust or Benavidez can build the necessary momentum to secure what would be an impressive win.
On this occasion I expect Ramirez to provide more opposition than he did against Bivol, and for the middle rounds to become competitive. This isn’t the straightforward fight that’s being suggested, but I do expect Benavidez to gradually close out victory with his intensity and his will to win and to win on points.
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Naoya Inoue-Junto Nakatani may be the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history – certainly in the context of the attention it’s receiving from the western world. I expect Inoue to win a decision – both will be determined and dogged, because of the cultural pride on the line and the warrior’s mentality they share, and while I expect a violent fight, I see it going the distance.
