David Benavidez Shows His Power and Aims at Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramírez
David Benavidez reaffirmed his dominance in boxing by defeating Anthony Yarde this Saturday, retaining his WBC and WBA “regular” super-middleweight titles. Following his victory, Benavidez announced his ambition to challenge Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, WBO and WBA cruiserweight champion, in May. Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) achieved a technical knockout (TKO) victory over Yarde (27-4, 24 KOs) in the seventh round. The fight was stopped at minute 1:59, after Benavidez sent Yarde to the canvas and continued with a series of punches. The fight, held at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was largely dominated by Benavidez, who landed effective combinations to his opponent’s body and head.
This was Benavidez’s third appearance in the light heavyweight category and his first stoppage victory in this division. His two previous fights at 175 pounds resulted in decision victories against David Morell and Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Benavidez needed around four rounds to deploy his strategy against Yarde, but once he did, the control was total. The situation for Yarde worsened in the sixth round, when Benavidez responded to a good uppercut from Yarde with a display of strength in the center of the ring, which seemed to motivate him even more, dominating the rest of the round and the fight. If the fight materializes, Benavidez would face another Mexican champion, Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs). Ramirez’s last defeat was by decision against Dmitry Bivol in a non-title fight in November 2022.“He entered the world of the ‘Monster’ and was knocked out,” commented Benavidez, known as “The Mexican Monster.” “This is incredible. I am very happy with this. I have news. On May 2nd, ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, I will go up to challenge for his title.”
David Benavidez
