Clash of Mexican Titans Zurdo and Benavidez

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 2nd at the T Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, slap bang in the middle of the traditional Mexican Cinco De Mayo Festivities.

The festival atmosphere Super Martes a Café of the World Boxing Council, was 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 which 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 a hefty twenty- five pounds difference. David who says he was thinking about a new division on these lines the other day, but candidly says he hasn`t found a problem in beefing up to this new limit, and because he tends to fight twice a year, there won`t be a problem in slimming back down again to fulfil his commitments as the WBC light heavyweight champion. But he does think there should be another weight division to fulfil the gap.

Size wise, the two of them match/math 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 thirty- four. David is five years younger. Zurdo`s record is 48-1, 30 KO`s. David`s tally is 31-0, 25 KO`s. David has been WBC super-middleweight champion, is the current WBC light heavyweight champion. WBO super-middleweight and now WBO and WBA cruiserweight champion. Standing side by side, David is leaner and slimmer and Zurdo is noticeably bulker.

David says everything has been perfect in training and an important key to unlock victory is speed. The other day he was at the Pyramids at Teotihuacan with his young son Anthony. They were shadow boxing against this magnificent backdrop. With the upcoming Oleksandr Usyk fight at the pyramids at Giza, David says he would be honoured to fight at a world- famous site like the Teotihuacan pyramids, Chichen Itza, the Parthenon or even Stonehenge, as it would be an historic milestone. He also says that winning a world title at a third weight division would be fantastic and a confirmation towards 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 which made me the strongest. I`m happy about my accomplishments, but I don`t like to live in the past dwell on them and live with them, as there`s still a lot more I can accomplish. And by the time I`m done with boxing there is always going to be more room to do more.

‘’Over the years, learning different stuff 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 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 be better and better every single fight.’’

Zurdo is more relaxed and calm than David, but that belies the power, commitment and pride of a champion he too possesses. 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 at which I`m comfortable is going to be an advantage for me and concerning power. I`ve been training in the United States for this one and I`ve been training extra hard. For me the secret building towards 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 cruiser. Probably…yes.’’

Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions sees this as a classic which both fighters were clamouring for. He said: ‘’They`re both big, but I think you can throw that out of the window, as each is a master boxer and they are both 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 growing naturally and he`s now closer to his natural weight.

‘’Hand speed will be a big and significant factor during this fight. Also, this is a Mexican Vs a Mexican fight. The amount of pride involved means that 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, speaks for them. 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 and ingredients.

‘’I truly believe 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 possess his very own legacy. He cannot wait any more for any champion. Even if there was a fifty pounds weight difference, David would take the fight anyway. David is definitely more mature and his aim is to make himself the number one. He is going to take advantage of all the experience he has accumulated. If I tell 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 shadow boxing which made Dad proud and brought a huge round of applause from the assembled. Mauricio also gave Zurdo Green and Gold Belts for each of his two children.

There was a mariachi band belting out and four indigenous dancers sporting war pain, 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.’’