Cinco de Mayo bout matches light heavyweight champion against unified cruiserweight titleholder Gilberto Ramirez
David Benavidez will move to cruiserweight to challenge unified champion Gilberto Ramirez on May 2 in Las Vegas. The bout places a reigning light heavyweight belt holder into the 200-pound title picture on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
The 12-round fight headlines a PBC Pay-Per-View on Prime Video from T-Mobile Arena. It marks the first Mexico vs. Mexico world title fight above 168 pounds.
David Benavidez is 31-0 with 25 knockouts and holds the WBC and WBA light heavyweight belts. He moves up looking to collect a title in a third division against Gilberto Ramirez, who owns the WBA and WBO cruiserweight championships.
Benavidez last fought in November, stopping Anthony Yarde in seven rounds. In 2025 he added the WBA belt at 175 pounds with a decision over David Morrell Jr., after previously defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC title. Wins over Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade built his position across 168 and 175.
“This is something I’ve been working toward for a long time,” Benavidez said. “We’ve had so many great sparring sessions and I told Zurdo then, we’ll have to do this on pay-per-view one day. Now we’re going for two titles on May 2 and I’m very grateful. I’m gonna go in there and leave everything in the ring.”
Ramirez, 48-1 with 30 knockouts, became Mexico’s first cruiserweight world champion in March 2024 when he defeated Arsen Goulamirian for the WBA belt. He later added the WBO title with a decision over Chris Billiam-Smith and defended the unified position with a win against Yuniel Dorticos.
“I’m so glad to be here to make a huge fight for May 2,” Ramirez said. “Don’t miss this fight. At the end of the day, the titles are staying with Zurdo. I just want to be the best.”
At 175 pounds, Benavidez built his offense by starting with the jab, keeping steady workrate, and setting his feet before letting combinations go. At cruiserweight, he faces a naturally bigger champion who also works behind the jab and fires straight rights once he establishes range.
For Ramirez, body shots and range control will be critical against a pressure fighter who keeps coming forward. For Benavidez, the move tests his gas tank against a unified champion settled at 200 pounds.
At 200 pounds, the jab becomes even more important to establish range against a naturally bigger man.
Cinco de Mayo weekend often shapes the division hierarchy for the year. This fight will show how far Benavidez’s power and workrate carry at cruiserweight and whether Ramirez can hold ground against a smaller but aggressive challenger.