The upcoming showdown between David Benavidez and Gilberto Ramirez has finally been confirmed.
Benavidez was last in action in November when he successfully defended his WBC light heavyweight title for the first time with a seventh round stoppage victory over Anthony Yarde.
‘The Mexican Monster’ was initially expected to return with another title defence for his next bout as he looked to affirm his status as one of the best 175lbs fighters in the world, but he surprised everybody when he announced his intentions to move to cruiserweight.
He heads to the 200lb division to take on unified WBA and WBO champion Ramirez, and the bout has now been made official for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday 2 May.
Ramirez will be returning after a near one-year absence, with his last bout coming in June 2025 when he successfully retained his titles with a unanimous decision win over Yuniel Dorticos.
A victory over Benavidez would undoubtedly be the biggest win of Ramirez’s career so far, who has suffered just one loss in his 49 professional fights, coming when he campaigned at light heavyweight at the hands of Dmitry Bivol back in November 2022.
Benavidez would become a three-weight world champion if he is triumphant in May, having previously also reigned as WBC super-middleweight champion on two occasions.
Despite moving up a division, ‘The Mexican Monster’ heads into the bout with Ramirez as the favourite, and a win could pave the way for a future clash against IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, or a return to light heavyweight to meet unified king Bivol.