Advertisement
Boxing
How did Benavidez vs. Zurdo get made?
Benavidez vs. Zurdo: Watch on DAZN PPV - Saturday
Super fights get made in different ways.
Sometimes it's just promoters talking and getting their respective boxers to agree to terms. Other times, it's fighters getting on the phone and then telling their promoter the fight is agreed upon, and let's get the documents to make things proper. Or you can go the Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao route and get things in motion during a Miami Heat basketball game and then hammer out the remainder of the details in a hotel suite.
For the David Benavidez vs. Zurdo Ramirez cruiserweight title fight this Saturday, live on DAZN PPV, to get initiated, it took the former to reach out to the latter's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya.
"I'm good friends with Oscar De La Hoya," Benavidez told DAZN News. "I had spoken to him about three years ago. Like me, just being who I am, I'm a competitive person, and I try to look at the fights in the future to try to set up. And I told Oscar, I'm like, 'Man, now that'd be a great fight, and not only would it be a great fight for the people, it'd be a great fight for the country of Mexico.'
"But it'd also be a pay-per-view fight because all the sparing sessions I'd had with them, they're all like pay-per-view sparing sessions. Big respect to Zurdo Ramirez. He is a great fighter. He is a great competitor."
Intriguing styles make for classic between Benavidez and Zurdo
Watch: Tactical breakdown of both fighters
After the initial conversation with De La Hoya, Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) remained in contact with the head of Golden Boy Promotions. He kept reminding De La Hoya that they should make the fight, especially since Ramirez's (48-1, 30 KOs) stature rose after winning the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles.
The conversations went well, and then it got to Benavidez's people at Premier Boxing Champions, and here we are three days out from the fight.
"I kept putting it in his head," Benavidez said. "I kept putting it in his head. Zurdo Ramirez did his thing. He won two belts at cruiserweight. We seen the opportunity in the last fight. We spoke to Oscar. We spoke to Luis De Cubas. We spoke to Al Haymon to try to make it happen. They liked the idea, and then we made it happen."
Right now, Benavidez and Ramirez are at the top of their games and in the middle of their respective primes. The best facing the best, which is what boxing is supposed to be about.
"It happened at a perfect moment," Benavidez admitted. "Because we had the dates already for Cinco De Mayo. Canelo Alvarez is fighting in Saudi Arabia. He left the date open. So this thing was wide open for me. It was honestly perfect timing to make this fight happen right now."
Benavidez vs. Zurdo on DAZN PPV
Watch David Benavidez versus Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez on DAZN PPV this Saturday, May 2. Buy as a one-off PPV or get it included with the DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription, which also includes the Wardley vs. Dubois (May 9), Usyk vs. Verhoeven (May 23), Fury vs. Hall (June 13), and Zayas vs. Ennis (June 27) PPVs without any extra one-off costs.
For pricing, more information, and to sign up to watch, click here.
