LAS VEGAS — David Benavidez told ESPN recently that he didn’t want to just be the face of Mexican boxing, but the face of entertainment. And after the demolition derby he put on against former sparring partner and unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, he’s well on his way to securing that title.
He hasn’t quite surpassed Canelo Alvarez in terms of star power, but each Benavidez defining performance adds to his legend as one of the most exciting athletes in the world, regardless of the sport.
Benavidez moved up another weight class and turned in a brutal beatdown of Ramirez to become a three-division champion — the first boxer to win titles at super middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight. What was frightening about his performance was that the fight ended up being a side quest for Benavidez, who had been patiently waiting for light heavyweights Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol to open their door for “The Mexican Monster.” And that’s saying a lot considering that Benavidez’s side quest was taking two titles from Ramirez, who had previously only lost to Bivol — a unanimous decision in 2022. Bivol didn’t put the beating on Ramirez that Benavidez did.
Even though Benavidez was the favorite heading into the fight (-550 per DraftKings Sportsbook), few expected him to run over Ramirez the way that he did. It was violent, remorseless and left the two-division champion with what appeared to be an eye injury. It was the kind of performance that makes potential Benavidez opponents reconsider their options to preserve their career.
Benavidez has never shied away from an opponent and has hunted everyone from 168 to 200 pounds so that he can test himself. Following his latest win, Benavidez will move his way back down to light heavyweight in pursuit of a fight with Bivol. He called for a fight with Canelo — the white whale that he’s been chasing for the past half-decade — but the likelihood of the Mexican superstar sharing a ring with Benavidez is remote, at best.
“I just want to give the fans what they want to see,” Benavidez said during his postfight ring interview. “I see Canelo [Alvarez] in the building. Hey, let me just ask the fans this. Do you guys want to see Canelo versus David Benavidez?” The crowd responded with cheers. “Enough said,” Benavidez said.
But at this point, few will complain if Canelo, who is still fighting at 168 pounds, opts to steer clear of Benavidez.
We’ve reached a point where Benavidez has become must-see television with every performance highlighted with viral moments such as the obscene combinations that he leveled Ramirez with throughout their cruiserweight title fight. Boxers that size shouldn’t have hands that fast, yet Benavidez possesses the hand speed and the power to dismantle the opposition. Roy Jones Jr. told ESPN before the fight that Benavidez does things with ease that normal fighters cannot do. And that’s high praise coming from boxing’s human highlight reel.
“I want to follow in the footsteps of Manny Pacquiao,” Benavidez said during his postfight news conference. “You know, funny enough, me and Manny Pacquiao had the same birthday, so I feel like we have the same fire and the same flame. And, you know, I just want to give these types of exciting fights. Because when I was a little kid, this is what always excited me, you know, these types of fights, watching these, you know, these, these crazy knockouts, these crazy stoppages.”
Not only is Benavidez exciting, he’s also dominant. He has dominated the opposition for the past seven years, breaking the will of each opponent one combination at a time. The worst part for anyone holding a title is that if the excuse not to fight him is to preserve your health, that’s not going to fly with boxing fans. A fight with a sound ring tactician in Bivol would be as good as it gets in boxing, where the Russian’s airtight defense would be tested against Benavidez’s swarming style that has drowned 32 consecutive opponents. Bivol will make his return to the ring against Michael Eifert on May 30 in what is seen as nothing more than a tuneup fight. After that, there are no excuses to not make Bivol-Benavidez.
“Bivol is the No. 1 on my hit list,” Benavidez said. “Bivol, he’s a great competitor, great champion, but I’m a great champion too. I just want to test myself every single fight.”
And if for some reason that fight doesn’t happen, rest assured that Benavidez would look to Beterbiev, a former light heavyweight champion, for a fight. After all, it’s never about the opponent, it’s about the opportunity to hurt whoever is available.
As Benavidez told ESPN ahead of the fight, “I just like beating people up.”
