Benavidez Stops Zurdo in Six to Become Three-Division World Champion

David Benavidez etched his name into the history books on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena, stopping Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in the sixth round to claim the unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles on the PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view. With the win, the Phoenix native became the first boxer to capture world titles at super middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight, and the first fighter ever to stop Ramirez.

Benavidez set the tone immediately, flashing the same hand speed he carried at 168 and 175 and finding a home for crisp right hands from the opening round. A one-sided fourth round ended with Zurdo taking a knee after a flush combination, and a fifth-round assault swelled the champion’s right eye and, by some accounts, broke his nose. Midway through the sixth, Benavidez unloaded another blistering combination, dropped Ramirez to a knee with his eye completely shut, and the defending champion refused to answer the count.

Canelo Alvarez was ringside and left the building before the main event, a moment Benavidez’s father and trainer later said was no accident. Inside the ring Benavidez wasted no time turning the spotlight on his biggest wanted matchup, calling out Canelo directly while the crowd cheered, then pivoting to name unified light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol as “No. 1 on my hit list.” Benavidez still holds a WBC title at 175, leaving him with options in either direction.

Benavidez improves to 32-0 with 26 knockouts and becomes the 58th fighter in boxing history to win titles in three weight classes. He has now stopped his last several opponents and re-enters the pound-for-pound conversation near the very top of the sport. Ramirez, a former WBO super middleweight champion whose only previous loss was to Bivol at 175, falls to 48-2 with 30 knockouts and saw his cruiserweight reign end on the first night someone forced him to quit.

Source: CBS Sports, Boxing News 24, Premier Boxing Champions, Bleacher Report