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Boxing
Is undervalued Zurdo Ramirez a dark horse to halt the David Benavidez train?
Benavidez vs. Zurdo: Watch on DAZN PPV - TONIGHT
Much of the promotion ahead of Saturday's unified cruiserweight title match on DAZN PPV between David Benavidez and Zurdo Ramirez has been focused on the challenger and not much tilt towards the champion.
That was evidenced at Friday's weigh-in. Benavidez was led to the stage by a mariachi band while Ramirez sat in a chair and waited for both combatants to tip the scales.
Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) has a better chance than people are giving him.
For starters, this is Ramirez's fifth fight at cruiserweight, while Benavidez has never competed above light heavyweight. Since moving up to cruiserweight in October, Zurdo has dominated all four opponents: Chris Billam-Smith, Yuniel Dorticos, Arsen Goulamirian, and Joe Smith Jr.
Ramirez is used to carrying the weight, taking the shots, and going the rounds to show he's finally in the weight class. On the other hand, we don't know how Benavidez's going to adapt to nearly 22 pounds of additional weight.
Benavidez chose to jump into the lion's den against the best cruiserweight in the world instead of taking a tune-up to get adjusted to a new division.
"The Mexican Monster" isn't Dmitry Bivol. Unlike Bivol, Benavidez will engage and engage a lot. He'll be in your face and willing to go toe-to-toe. That's right up Ramirez's alley. He wants to throw and do it in bunches, as evidenced by the Billam-Smith fight, to the point where he battered and bruised up the Brit to become the unified champion.
All of this doesn't mean Benavidez won't be prepared. Of course, he will be. You don't become great by not putting in the work. And Benavidez has done that by putting in five months of training and putting on muscle, which gives him a legit shot to win.
Let's remember, though, Ramirez and Benavidez put around 150-200 of what the latter has described as "PPV sessions". There's something to be said for that. Ramirez knows Benavidez very well and better than anyone the 29-year-old has ever fought. It gives Ramirez an advantage. He knows Benavidez's tendencies and what to expect from him.
Don't count Ramirez out whatsoever. He's the guy who can go punch-for-punch, shot-for-shot with Benavidez and be the one who can give him his first "L".
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.
