Clash Of Mexican Titans

The two Mexican six-footers, David “Red Flag” Benavidez and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, squared up, shook hands, embraced, and showed respect as David challenges Zurdo for his cruiserweight titles on May 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, slap bang in the middle of the traditional Mexican Cinco de Mayo festivities.

The festival atmosphere at Super Martes Café of the World Boxing Council was held at the magnificent Camino Real Hotel in the Pedregal district, deep in the south of Mexico City. David, who is the WBC light heavyweight champion, has sought and been granted permission to contest Zurdo’s WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles. To mark the occasion, which is so very brilliantly Mexican, the WBC has had a special commemorative belt made that the winner will hold aloft. It is the Tollan Tlatequi Belt.

The light heavyweight category is 175 pounds, while the cruiserweight limit is 200 pounds. Some experts are calling for an intermediate “bruiserweight” division to bridge the hefty 25-pound difference. David says he was thinking about a new division along those lines the other day, but candidly admits he hasn’t found a problem in beefing up to the new limit. Because he tends to fight twice a year, he believes there won’t be a problem slimming back down again to fulfill his commitments as the WBC light heavyweight champion. However, he does think there should be another weight division to bridge the gap.

Size-wise, the two of them match up fairly evenly. While Zurdo is six feet two and a half inches, David is just half an inch shorter. Zurdo’s reach is seventy-five inches, while David’s wingspan is just half an inch less. Zurdo is 34. David is five years younger. Zurdo’s record is 48-1 with 30 KOs. David’s tally is 31-0 with 25 KOs. David has been WBC super middleweight champion and is the current WBC light heavyweight champion. Zurdo has been WBO super middleweight champion and is now the WBO and WBA cruiserweight champion. Standing side by side, David is leaner and slimmer, while Zurdo is noticeably bulkier.

David says everything has been perfect in training and that an important key to unlocking victory is speed. The other day he was at the Pyramids of Teotihuacan with his young son Anthony. They were shadowboxing against this magnificent backdrop. With the upcoming Oleksandr Usyk fight at the pyramids of Giza, David says he would be honored to fight at a world-famous site like the Teotihuacan pyramids, Chichen Itza, the Parthenon, or even Stonehenge, as it would be a historic milestone. He also says that winning a world title in a third weight division would be fantastic and a confirmation of his heritage.

He described it by saying:
“I’m very happy with everything that has happened in my life. Sometimes the hardest lessons I had to learn were the ones that made me the strongest. I’m happy about my accomplishments, but I don’t like to dwell on them or live in the past, as there’s still a lot more I can accomplish. By the time I’m done with boxing, there will always be room to do more.

“Over the years I’ve been learning different things and different techniques. I never stop watching boxing, and I’m a big fan of boxing. I’m always studying, trying to be the best, and I know I can still learn. Once you’ve told yourself you’ve learned everything about boxing, that’s when you’re done. But there are so many things I continue to learn now, and that allows me to get better and better every single fight.”

Zurdo is more relaxed and calm than David, but that belies the power, commitment, and pride of the champion he is. He said:
“David is an excellent boxer, and for sure this is going to be a truly great fight between the two of us. The twenty-five pounds heavier division at cruiserweight, where I’m comfortable, is going to be an advantage for me in terms of power. I’ve been training in the United States for this one, and I’ve been training extra hard. For me, the secret to building toward success will be my timing of punches. By the end of this fight, David will know, understand, and appreciate the difference between light heavy and cruiserweight. Probably… yes.”

Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions sees this as a classic that both fighters were clamoring for. He said:
“They’re both big, but I think you can throw that out the window, as each is a master boxer and both are big punchers. It’s going to be a great fight. David is a big kid who killed himself to make weight, so I think this fight is going to give him an advantage as he grows naturally and gets closer to his natural weight.

“Hand speed will be a big and significant factor during this fight. Also, this is a Mexican vs. Mexican fight. The amount of pride involved means these guys are going to go to war. You can slice and dice it any way you want, but this is going to be one exciting fight. Their styles and the way they fight speak for themselves. There’s no need for trash talking—there’s a lot of pride in what they do. This is what our sport needs. These guys want this to be an instant classic, and it has all the makings.

“I truly believe that when two fighters want to fight, it’s easy to make. These two really wanted this fight, and it was very easy to make.”

Sampson Lewkowicz, who has been with David from the beginning, says:
“David wants to create his own legacy. He cannot wait any longer for any champion. Even if there were a fifty-pound weight difference, David would take the fight anyway. David is definitely more mature, and his aim is to make himself number one. He is going to take advantage of all the experience he has accumulated. If I told you the secret of spotting fighters like David, the Fundoras, and Sergio Martinez, I would look funny, so…I’m not going to tell you.”

The event was a magnificent showpiece. World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman presented a WBC mini belt to young Anthony Benavidez, together with a jacket and some boxing gloves. The lad did a dynamo session of shadowboxing that made Dad proud and brought a huge round of applause from those assembled. Mauricio also gave Zurdo green and gold belts for each of his two children.

There was a mariachi band belting out the music and four indigenous dancers sporting war paint, feathered head dresses with a black pot of fire, shields and banging out a beat on drums.

What a WBC event. As Carly Simon once sang: “Nobody does it better.”

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