David Benavidez Shows Dominance and Aims at Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez
David Benavidez, known as “The Mexican Monster”, offered a display of power on Saturday by retaining his WBC and WBA super middleweight titles, defeating Anthony Yarde. Following his victory, he announced his intention to challenge Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, WBO and WBA cruiserweight champion, in May. Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) secured the victory by technical knockout (TKO) at 1:59 of the seventh round at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after sending Yarde (27-4, 24 KOs) to the canvas at the beginning of the same round. The fight clearly went in favor of Benavidez, who imposed his rhythm with effective combinations to the body and head.
This was Benavidez’s third appearance at light heavyweight and his first stoppage victory in this category. His two previous fights at 175 pounds resulted in decision victories against David Morell and Oleksandr Gvozdyk. After about four rounds, Benavidez took control of the fight, and the situation worsened for Yarde in the sixth, when Benavidez responded to a good uppercut from Yarde with a show of strength in the center of the ring. This exchange seemed to motivate Benavidez even more, who dominated the rest of the round and the fight. If the fight materializes, Benavidez would face another Mexican champion, Ramírez (48-1, 30 KOs), whose last defeat was by decision against Dmitry Bivol in a non-title fight in November 2022.He entered the Monster’s world and was knocked out. This feels incredible. I am very happy with this. I have news. On May 2nd, Zurdo Ramírez, I am going to go up to challenge for his title.
David Benavidez
