David Benavidez and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez previewed their bout and faced off at the final press conference. The Mexico vs Mexico showdown headlines PBC PPV on Prime Video this Saturday, May 2, live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Two-division world champion Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs), who currently holds the WBC and WBA “Regular” light heavyweight titles, once again moves up a weight class. The 29-year-old Phoenix native challenges his former sparring partner Zurdo Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) for the unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight belts.
Benavidez said he is already on weight, feeling strong, and ready to take a risk in his attempt to conquer a new division.
“I’m very excited for this,” Benavidez said at the press conference at Studio Ballroom at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “I’ve been training extremely hard. I got five months training in this training camp because I knew Zurdo Ramirez is a great fighter. He’s a great champion. We did a lot of rounds with him back then, and I know he’s gonna come to fight. Big respect to all these guys over here.”
“It is definitely really important, and I think both of us having a fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend is something that we’ve been both working for a long, long time. We’re both blessed, you know what I mean? We both knew we were gonna get this fight back then, and this is both of our first times fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend, so we both did our jobs.”
“He captured titles at cruiserweight, I captured titles at light heavyweight, and it was just perfect timing. I’m very excited to be here. I’m very excited to headline my first Cinco de Mayo with my friend Zurdo Ramirez.”
When asked what it means for him to become a three-division world champion, Benavidez said, “That just catapults me into the same category as the greats. You know, it’s very hard to become world champion. It’s very hard to become world champion in two weight classes. So, three weight classes would put me in the same conversation as the greats.”
“At the end of the day, I want to keep giving the fans what they want to see, the best fights, and keep winning world titles to solidify my legacy.”
‘I’m the champ’
Two-weight champion Ramirez, 34, of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, also appeared confident ahead of the fight, saying he is the champion and will keep his belts.
When asked whether he thinks Benavidez is making a mistake by moving up 25 pounds, Ramirez said, “No, I think he’s ready for the division. That’s why he moved up.”
“I’m the champ. I don’t feel disrespect. I just train hard to put on a great show, to prove myself and prepare to still be champion.”
“He will try, and I will try. I will do it, too. Saturday, everyone will see us.”
On Benavidez vs Zurdo undercard
In the co-feature to Benavidez vs Zurdo, Armando Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) defends his WBA super middleweight title against fellow Mexican and former super welterweight champion Jaime Munguia (45-2, 35 KOs).
On the undercard, Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) takes on Angel Fierro (23-4-2, 18 KOs) in an all-Mexican super lightweight bout.
Mexican-born, Las Vegas-based Isaac Lucero (18-0, 14 KOs) and Argentinian-born, Spain-based Ismael Flores (17-1-1, 12 KOs) square off in a super welterweight bout.
The PPV opener is a super bantamweight bout between Mexican-born, San Diego-based Jorge Chavez (15-0-1, 8 KOs) and Jose “Tito” Sanchez (15-0, 9 KOs) of Rancho Mirage, CA.