The light heavyweight division is fast approaching a new era as the four belts start to diverge following a brief back and forth of the undisputed title between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev in 2024 and 2025.
While the landscape slows shifts at 175 pounds, Venezuelan knockout artist Albert Ramirez has largely gone under-the-radar to work himself into a position as the WBA interim title holder. Bivol currently holds the world title with the WBA, while Benavidez is the regular champion, effectively making Ramirez the first and second in line for either title.
However, the ground could shift again at 175 pounds as Benavidez moves to cruiserweight to challenge WBA and WBO world champion Gilberto Ramirez on May 2, and Bivol will defend his IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight belts against little-known German contender Michael Eifert in Ekaterinburg on May 30.
“He’s so close from a fight with the big names.” Camille Estephan, Ramirez’s promoter, said exclusively to Boxing Social. “Beterbiev, Bivol, [David] Benavidez. We want one of these guys. But we need to get through Richards first. I met him and his team and they seemed very serious. He’s a great fighter. So, I think it is a hell of a main event.”
Ramirez (22-0, 19 KOs) will first have to overcome England’s Lerrone Richards in the rescheduled headliner at Montreal Casino on June 4 promoted by Estephan’s Eye of the Tiger. The 33-year-old is in impressive form, stopping his last four opponents, including Adam Deines and against Jerome Pampellone in his most recent bout last August.
“Bivol is fighting Eifert, and I hear that after this fight they might do the third Beterbiev fight,” Estephan said regarding the state of the light heavyweight division. “Benavidez has temporarily moved up but he has said that he wants to come back down and keep campaigning at 175.”
Estephan threw his other light heavyweight contender into the mix without any prompt. Imam Khataev will also feature on the undercard of Ramirez’s bill, with an opponent yet to be announced.
“One of these three guys for us,” Estephan said in regard to Bivol, Beterbiev and Benavidez. “In Ramirez and Khataev, we are going to come after them, and we are going to take one of their titles away from them.”
The Russian 31-year-old was unfortunate to be on the wrong side of a split-decision loss to David Morrell on the Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda undercard last July. However, Khataev (11-1, 10 KOs) bounced back with a third-round stoppage against Deines five months ago, to find himself ranked in third place for the IBF title and is also sat in fifth position for the WBC belt.