David Benavidez stops Zurdo Ramirez to grab titles up at Cruiserweight.

David Benavidez delivered a shining performance last night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, moving up in weight to arrest the WBA and WBO cruiserweight championships from fellow Mexican Gilberto Zurdo Ramirez. With the victory, Benavidez claimed titles in a third division and solidified his status as one of boxing’s elite.  From the opener, the size difference between the two became evident, Benavidez spent the majority of the round gauging distance and made the initial breakthrough with a crisp combination towards the closing seconds. Ramirez responded in the second by pressing forward and trying to work on the inside, but Benavidez maintained control, creating space and finishing strong once again.Ramirez continued applying pressure in the third and found some success at close range, yet Benavidez consistently had the final say, unleashing quick combinations late in the round. The fourth proved pivotal, as Benavidez’s accuracy and volume began to take a toll. In the closing second, he dropped Ramirez, whose face was already showing signs of damage. Although Ramirez came out aggressively in the fifth, staying close and attempting to disrupt Benavidez’s rhythm, the challenger’s output and precision proved too much. By the sixth round, swelling around Ramirez’s eye had worsened. Benavidez capitalized, landing another decisive combination that sent the champion to the canvas for a second time. Referee Thomas Taylor completed the count at 2:59 of the round, bringing the bout to an end. With the win, Benavidez improves to 32-0 with 26 knockouts and adds another chapter to his unbeaten run. Ramirez, now 48-2 with 30 KOs put up a brave showing but was no match for the self proclaimed Mexican monster but was in no way disgraced in defeat.