Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez Training Camp Quotes Ahead Of David Benavidez Showdown: “Now It’s My Time!”

Unified WBA and WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez plans to make the most of his opportunity to headline Cinco de Mayo Weekend in Las Vegas as he takes on undefeated two-division world champion David “El Monstro” Benavidez in the main event of a PBC Pay-Per-View event available on Prime Video on Saturday, May 2 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“It’s an honor to be in this position,” said Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs). “You have to be a great fighter and a big name to headline Cinco de Mayo Weekend. Now it’s my time.”

Benavidez vs. Zurdo will present a first of its kind Mexico vs. Mexico matchup, as the first championship showdown between Mexican fighters to take place above 168 pounds. For the Sinaloa-native Ramirez, this historic angle adds even more juice to the biggest fight of his career.

“Fighting another Mexican is extra motivation,” said Ramirez. “We’re making history. There’s never been a fight like this between Mexican fighters this big. It’s going to be an amazing night. We’re going to leave everything we have in the ring.”

On top of their shared heritage, Ramirez and Benavidez also have a shared history inside of the ring, as Benavidez was used as a sparring partner ahead of Ramirez’s first world title fight, a 2016 victory over Arthur Abraham. When reflecting on the sparring, Ramirez remembers high-level action that should preview what fans are on for on May 2.

“Our sparring sessions would have been a great pay-per-view,” said Ramirez. “We both know that each of us has a lot of skill that we’ll be bringing into the ring. But I’ve also grown a lot as a fighter since we sparred. I’ve gotten a lot more experience that I’m gonna take into this fight.”

When Ramirez and Benavidez first shared the ring, Benavidez was still a year and a half away from becoming the youngest super middleweight world champion in boxing history. While they would both continue to win as they moved up in weight, Ramirez shared that he’s watched Benavidez and thought about them stepping into the ring for real throughout their last decade of successes.

“I’ve thought about fighting for David for about 10 years,” said Ramirez. “I think we both wanted to fight each other for that long. Now the time is almost here. David is a great fighter. I’ve been watching him a lot over the years and keeping an eye on him, knowing that one day we’d get in there together.”

Throughout a career that saw Ramirez make five successful defenses of his 168-pound belt before a 5-1 run that ended in a decision loss to Dmitry Bivol, he has perhaps reached his peak on his current cruiserweight run. Following a title-winning performance over then unbeaten Arsen Goulamirian in March 2024, Ramirez unified his WBA title with WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith via unanimous decision that November. He then turned away the dangerous former champion Yuniel Dorticos last June, but despite the recent run of wins, he believes his best performance will come on May 2.

“I think my last two performances have been good, but they’re not as great as this performance will be,” said Ramirez. “This is gonna be a war. We’re gonna give all the Mexican people a big party on May 2.”

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