Benavidez Challenges Canelo after Knocking Out Gilberto Ramirez

JAKARTA - David Benavidez immediately challenged Canelo Alvarez after he extended his unbeaten record by defeating his former sparring partner Gilberto Ramirez in his latest match.

Benavidez emerged victorious after knocking out Ramirez in the sixth round in a fight held at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States, on Saturday night local time or Sunday, May 3, 2026, morning WIB.

After carving out the victory, Benavidez immediately challenged Canelo - who was in the audience - to make a fight against him.

"I saw Canelo in this building. Let me ask the fans. Do you want to see Canelo fight David Benavidez?" asked the 29-year-old fighter, quoted from Sky Sports.

Benavidez continues to try to catch up with Canelo in the hope of creating one of the most interesting money duels. However, Canelo Alvarez has never agreed to it and it seems that the hope of seeing them duel will not happen.

Benavidez said he was willing to lose weight again to realize the fight against the Mexican boxer.

"I respect Canelo. He's a great champion. I'm a great champion too. Let's do it. I'm still a champion in the light heavyweight class and I'm a champion in the cruiserweight class. So, if they want to take the title in the light heavyweight class, let's take it in that class," he said.

In the clash with Benavidez, Ramirez fell twice, including at the end of the sixth round which made him swallow the second KO defeat of his career.

This defeat makes Ramirez, who is 34 years old, have to lose the title he has held since November 2024.

On the other hand, the victory over Ramirez made Benavidez entitled to take home the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles. This result also made him the first boxer to win titles in the super middleweight (76.2 kilograms), light heavyweight (79.3 kilograms), and cruiserweight (90.7 kilograms).