Ramirez-Benavidez Preview

Boxing’s Cruiserweight division, positioned between the Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions on the weight scale, is often one that one does not associate with marquee fights that become dates on the calendar that the entire sport marks down and looks forward to. The reason for that is that the division is not viewed as a career destination for most fighters. Either fighters start as a Cruiserweights with a keen eye towards becoming Heavyweights, Light-Heavyweights move into the division with the same eventual goal of becoming Heavyweights, or the Cruiserweight division ends up being a fallback option for those who have tested the Heavyweight waters and feel they can compete more effectively in the division just below the Heavyweights.

Although this observer has periodically chronicled the division, most notably referencing the 1986 WBA World Cruiserweight championship fight between the late Dwight Muhammad Qawi and Evander Holyfield, an encounter between two eventual Hall of Famers that was one of the best fights in the entire sport throughout the 1980’s that has stood the test of time, marquee attractions usually are absent from the division, which was then known as the Jr. Heavyweight division. On Cinco De Mayo weekend, however, the Cruiserweight division will see such an encounter between two world champions and stars of the sport as Gilberto Ramirez will defend his unified WBA/WBO World Cruiserweight championship against undefeated current WBC World Light-Heavyweight champion David Benavidez on May 2nd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV that can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN as part of its Ultimate subscription plan or as a standalone pay-per-view option either through DAZN or Prime Video* (*Prime Video option for the United States only for those who do not want access through DAZN.*)

This is a rare instance where not only will the Cruiserweight division get to be front and center with a fight in a coveted spot on the Boxing calendar, normally reserved for many of the sport’s biggest battles, but also brings together two offensive-minded fighters with crowd-pleasing styles that on paper, should mesh well with each other. In addition to that, these two fighters are both multi-division world champions having each won world titles in both the Super-Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight divisions previously in their respective careers.

While both fighters like to come forward and engage with their opponents and both are known for throwing punches in volume, the champion in this encounter Ramirez has one slight advantage at least in paper going into this fight. He has fought in the 190lb.-200lb. Cruiserweight division before and that experience in having competed in the division for three years might give him an edge over Ramirez who is moving up to Cruiserweight for the first time in his career. This is a fight where both fighters have high career knockout percentages where the challenger Benavidez has an edge of having stopped over 80% of his opponents compared to the champion’s 62%. The key, however, will be whether Benavidez will be as effective now in his third weight division as he has been previously. It is also worth noting that the only blemish on Ramirez’ record came in a decision loss to Dmitry Bivol in a failed bid to become a Light-Heavyweight world champion before embarking on the Cruiserweight division. Bivol is a master boxer that presents a difficult puzzle for opponents to try and solve with only Artur Beterbiev having been able to score a victory over Bivol to this point in his career so a loss to a fighter of Bivol’s caliber is in no way a disgrace and to Ramirez’ credit, he did give a good account of himself in defeat when they met in November 2022.

In this case, this observer feels it is more likely that we will see two fighters come forward and engage in some heated exchanges of punches, likely early in the scheduled twelve round world championship bout than it being a similar scenario where Ramirez had to combat an extremely technical boxer in Bivol. What will be interesting, however, is seeing as both Ramirez and Benavidez are come forward, pressure fighters who throw at a high volume, which fighter will take the initiative to try and implement that approach? Will it be the champion who will try and impose his will and experience having fought at this weight before on Benavidez or will it be the challenger who will try to back the champion up and show that his punching power will carry with him up to the Cruiserweight division?

Two very interesting questions that yours truly is as curious as anyone as to what will be the answers. While you never know what will happen when two fighters get into a ring regardless of similarities in styles and how a fight looks on paper, I personally have a hard time not seeing a scenario where at some point in the fight the two fighters are going to stand and trade punches with each other and that could very well end up looking like a 50/50 toss up as to who will get the better of it in a bout that some likely will suggest will not go the distance.

For a division in the Cruiserweights that has almost always been starved for mainstream attention in the sport, despite having countless notable fighters pass through it either on the way up to Heavyweight or on the way down towards the end of their careers, this is finally one fight that is worthy of such mainstream attention. If this turns out to be similar to the thrilling battle that Qawi and Holyfield provided forty years ago, hopefully the Cruiserweights will be able to take advantage of the increased exposure, which could lead to more lucrative bouts down the road,

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

Ramirez vs. Benavidez takes place on Saturday, May 2nd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The fight as well as its full undercard can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN included as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription for $44.99 per month or as a standalone pay-per-view option for $79.99 and will also be available on a pay-per-view basis at the aforementioned price on digital streaming entertainment platform Prime Video (*Prime Video access available in United States only.*)

The card will begin at 5:30PM ET/2:30PM PT with free preliminary bouts with the main card available to subscribers and pay-per-view customers beginning at 8PM ET/5PM PT.

(*North American Start Times Only*)

(*Card and Start Times Subject to Change.*)

Visit www.DAZN.com for ordering information, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, or to subscribe to DAZN Ultimate. To order through Prime Video, download the Prime Video app on your streaming device of choice or visit www.PrimeVideo.com for ordering information and a list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, and Smart TVs.

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Jack-Mikaeljan: The Rematch

In May of this year on the undercard of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez successfully becoming an Undisputed Super-Middleweight world champion for a second time with a convincing twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten IBF world champion William Scull in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, two-division world champion Badou Jack did battle with  WBC World Cruiserweight world champion Norair Mikaeljan with the WBC Cruiserweight crown at stake. A close and competitive fight throughout where the champion Mikaeljan was the busier of the two fighters, but Jack in the view of most observers landed the harder punches. Despite a wide advantage for the champion in terms of CompuBox statistics in out landing Jack in total landed punches 153 to 122 over the course of the twelve round world title bout, it would be Jack who would emerge victorious via a razor-thin majority decision, making him a two-time holder of the WBC World Cruiserweight championship after briefly holding it only to vacate it in 2023. Mikaeljan, the fighter who succeeded Jack as WBC champion, appealed to the sanctioning organization in the aftermath of the bout in May and was granted an immediate rematch.

A rematch that will take place on Saturday, December 13th at the Ace Mission Studios in Los Angeles, CA, that will headline a pay-per-view card that will be available on a variety of cable/satellite, and streaming platforms. In some respects, though seeing a former world champion being granted a rematch is not unusual and rare in the sport of Boxing, this is somewhat of a rarity.

After all, the Cruiserweight division, also known as the Jr. Heavyweight division as it sits between the Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions amongst Boxing’s seventeen weight classes, has almost always been void of the type of publicity and mainstream exposure that are often afforded to other divisions. One has to go almost forty years to when a young future legend and Hall of Famer Evander Holyfield engaged in a fifteen round war with the recently deceased two-division world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi to win the WBA Jr, Heavyweight world championship in July 1986 to find a time and a fighter that brought consistent exposure to the division. Holyfield’s first world title would ultimately serve as a launching pad as he quickly unified the Cruiserweight division becoming its first undisputed world champion before embarking on the Heavyweight division, ultimately becoming the only fighter in Boxing history to have won a World Heavyweight championship on four separate occasions. As great as Holyfield proved to be as a fighter, a legitimate argument can be made that when he exited the Cruiserweight division having quickly cleaned the division out by 1988, he took whatever spotlight the division was benefiting from with him. It is also true that the last man to hold the undisputed title in the division, Oleksandr Usyk, immediately did what Holyfield had done decades earlier by vacating the title and ultimately becoming the first fighter in Boxing history to fully unify the Heavyweight division twice. 

Perhaps a more cynical point of view is that the most consistent attention the division receives in the present day in the sport comes from the aspiring boxer and promoter Jake Paul, who still faces questions regarding his legitimacy as a fighter having never faced an opponent that would be considered a fringe prospect or contender to this point in his career. When one takes all of the above into consideration, the fact that the Jack-Mikaeljan rematch has generated the buzz it has, should be viewed as a positive both for the Cruiserweight division and the fighters themselves.

The premise of this return encounter in the eyes of this observer will come down to whether Mikaeljan will be able to not only duplicate his performance from the first fight seven months ago, but to do so in a more convincing fashion where the judges will give him the benefit of the doubt. While I personally felt he did enough to retain his title back in May, what is often misunderstood is punch statistics though often serving as an illustration of what goes on in a fight, is not a part of official scoring criteria and as such if one fighter is able to give an impression that they are landing harder punches, though not being as consistent in output as their opponent, that perception of doing more damage with their offense can result in a judge scoring rounds for that fighter and ignoring the aspect of overall activity. Mikaeljan, who will enter this rematch with a record of 27-3, with 12 Knockouts, must find a way to be more convincing as to not allow the judges room to sway their opinions, particularly if Jack is able to land solidly as he did in the first fight.

The champion meanwhile, who comes into his first title defense of his second reign as WBC World Cruiserweight champion, with a record of 29-3-3, with 17 Knockouts, needs to find a way to be busier throughout this fight. Neither fighter is known for their punching power and though one can never discount the possibility of a knockout, the more probable scenario here is this fight, like its predecessor, will go the twelve round distance. What makes that potentially crucial is Badou Jack has shown a tendency to be periodically sluggish in his fights and, despite getting the nod from two official judges in the first fight by a seven rounds to five margin or 115-113 in points, he cannot allow himself to fall into any kind of hole here in terms of scoring this time around, especially with the view of many that the first fight should have went in favor of Mikaeljan.

It is also very much within the realm of possibility here that if Norair Mikaeljan can turn the tables and win this fight that we could see a third encounter. For a division that seems to always be in a state of both obscurity and flux in terms of who is at or near the top of it, that would probably be welcomed as it will keep a spotlight on the division. If such a spotlight and subsequent discussion that will follow is for positive reasons, it will be a win for the sport. Before we get ahead of ourselves, Badou Jack and Norair Mikaeljan have business to tend to and it remains to be seen if this is a conclusion or merely the next chapter in what could be a rivalry.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

Jack vs. Mikaeljan takes place on Saturday, December 13th at Ace Mission Studios in Los Angeles, CA. The fight can be seen on a pay-per-view basis on a variety of cable/satellite providers and streaming platforms including Prime Video, PPV.com, and Triller TV and their respective streaming apps available on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming devices and Smart TVs. for $29.95 beginning at 9PM ET/6PM PT. (*North American Times Only*) (*Card Subject To Change*) contact your Pay-TV provider or click the highlighted links above for ordering information, how to download the respective app of your choice on your streaming device of choice, and for availability internationally.

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