Mexican to make first defence on Benavidez-Ramírez undercard.
David Benavidez’s fight with Gilberto Ramírez for the unified cruiserweight championship is one of the best fights on the current boxing calendar.
Both men are former super-middleweights, yet stand over six feet tall. In the cruiserweight division, you get a sense that they can utilise their frames at a much more natural weight.
Indeed, a fight in which Benavidez is outsized is a rare sight, but against Ramírez, that’s exactly the type of contest he finds himself in.
The massive Mexican is most likely the largest opponent Benavidez has ever faced overall, and “Zurdo” happens to be his country’s first cruiserweight champion in history.
And in fact, Benavidez is the first American to challenge for a major cruiserweight title since Michael Hunter fought Oleksandr Usyk for the WBO belt in 2017 (not including Brandon Glanton’s recent fight for the Zuffa Boxing title).
Regardless, while the main event is strong, every good headliner requires a good supporting act, and Benavidez-Ramírez is no different.
After a while of rumours, we now have confirmation that WBA super-middleweight champion Armando Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) will be making the first defence of his world title against former two-division champion Jermall Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs).
A Mexico vs. America fight just like the main event, this bout sees the recently-crowned Resendiz defend his belt in his first fight since his 2025 “Upset of the Year” over Caleb Plant, who was being lined up for Charlo after an expected win.
Other fights rumoured for the Benavidez-Ramírez undercard are Lamont Roach Jr. vs. William Zepeda, a WBA interim welterweight title fight between Shakhram Giyasov and Raúl Curiel, and an all-Mexican cracker between Oscar Duarte and Angel Fierro.
Should all these fights take place on the same card, it’s highly likely that Benavidez-Ramírez will do rather well in terms of pay-per-view sales.
CONFIRMED: Armando Resendiz will defend his WBA 168-pound championship against Jermall Charlo on May 2, sources confirmed with ESPN on Tuesday.
The fight will serve as the co-main event to Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez’s unified cruiserweight title defense against David Benavidez.
— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) March 17, 2026
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