The biggest fight of the weekend in the United States was David Benavidez against Zurdo Ramirez on May 2, 2026. On paper, many presented the matchup as a real clash: on one side, a champion at cruiserweight in Ramirez; on the other, Benavidez moving up in weight to try to take his belt. From our side, though, this already looked like a fairly limited fight. We had discussed it on the Dans les Cordes podcast: Ramirez, despite being only 34, already carries a lot of mileage in boxing. He has given a lot and he has already been beaten. There was little doubt even before the opening bell. The day before the fight, watching him walk, his legs already looked stiff, tired, almost limping. There was not much mystery: Benavidez looked set to win easily.
That impression was confirmed as soon as the fight began. Ramirez had almost no head movement and was getting caught by nearly everything Benavidez threw. As entertainment, it was not unpleasant: Benavidez comes forward, looks for contact, brings aggression, and when he is on screen you are not bored. But in terms of pure boxing, it was still a very limited spectacle. At times, it felt like watching two heavy-set guys fight, far from the cleaner, more refined boxing usually expected from top champions. Benavidez's hand speed at this weight remains impressive, especially with the smaller gloves, and it does plenty of damage. But his dominance did not erase his flaws: he was in full mode, constantly moving forward, and he still got hit often by Ramirez. Those shots had no real impact on him, but they were there, and against a fresher or more dangerous opponent, those openings could matter.
Ramirez took a knee around the fourth round, apparently bothered by his eye. Then, in the sixth, after a Benavidez combination that also included an elbow that seemed accidental, Ramirez chose not to get back up. The elbow appeared to play a part in his decision, even if the fight was already clearly going Benavidez's way. The result was a knockout win for Benavidez, with no real surprise.
But once again, the problem is what comes next. After the fight, Benavidez called out Canelo, which raises an obvious question: how does a fighter who has just won a belt in one division call out an opponent who is roughly 25 kilos lighter than him? He also talks about Bivol or Beterbiev, two names who are not necessarily at their best right now, while immediately saying no to a fight with Jai Opetaia, the reigning champion, young, in his prime, and the reference point of the division. That is the real problem with Benavidez: he will never truly be the face of boxing, as the Americans say, because he lacks class. He is always looking for fights where he clearly has an advantage, or fights that can bring him a big payday.
For anyone who is neither Mexican nor a Benavidez fan, this fight did not have much interest beyond seeing where Ramirez stands in his career. And the answer is clear: as he had suggested himself, his career is nearing its end. Benavidez leaves with a clean win, speed, power, and another name on his record. But to convince people beyond his own audience, he will need more than a demonstration against an opponent who was already worn down.
