‘It’s time to go to war’: David Benavidez promises to show ‘Mexican Monster’ against Zurdo Ramirez

David Benavidez has a lot of respect for Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, whom he considers a friend, but says he’s ready to “go to war” on Saturday, when the two meet for Ramirez’s WBO cruiserweight title.

“I’m very excited for this. I’ve been training extremely hard,” Benavidez said at Thursday’s press conference. “I got five months training in this training camp because I knew Zurdo Ramirez is a great fighter. He’s a great champion. We did a lot of rounds with him [in sparring] back then, and I know he’s gonna come to fight, you know, big respects to all these guys over here.

“With that being said, it’s time to go to war. And when David Benavidez goes to war, he doesn’t shy away from anything. When I see the fire, I put myself in the fire to get the best version out of myself, and I’m not scared of nobody. You guys will see what the Mexican Monster is made of.”

Benavidez on headlining Cinco De Mayo weekend

“It is definitely really important, and I think just both of us having a fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend is something that we’ve been both working for a long, long time for. We’re both blessed, you know what I mean? We both knew we were gonna get this fight back then, and this is both of our first times fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend, so we both did our jobs. He captured titles at super middleweight and cruiserweight. I captured titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight and it was just perfect timing. I’m just very excited to be here. I’m very excited to headline my first Cinco de Mayo with my friend Zurdo Ramirez.”

Benavidez on possibly becoming a three-division champ

“That just catapults me into the same category as the greats. You know, it’s very hard to become world champion. It’s very hard to become world champion in two weight classes. So, three weight classes would put me in the same conversations as the greats. At the end of the day, I want to keep giving the fans what they want to see, the best fights, and keep winning world titles to solidify my legacy.”