By Norm Frauenheim
LAS VEGAS —David Benavidez promised dominance. He promised to seize a Cinco de May torch that has belonged to Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez.
For one night, the dominance was there.
So, too was that torch, which Benavidez grabbed with the fastest hands in a dangerous business. It belonged to him Saturday night and perhaps in future years after he claimed a third title in a third division with a sixth-round knockout of Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Benavidez, born-and-forged in Phoenix, is the first in history to win titles at 168 pounds, 175 and 200. In effect, he took the snoozer out of cruiser with hands that move at a rocket rate.
“Speed, power and punch selection,” Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) said.”That’s what I do. I’ll fight anybody. Don’t efff with me.”
Zurdo (48-2, 30 KOs) tried. But he had no way of dealing with Benavidez’ singular hand speed. HIs trademark flurries are a blitzkrieg. They overwhelm.
In the fourth round, Zurdo saw it coming at him from angles he never expected. His only escape was to take a knee. A storm shelter wasn’t available. He would got back onto his feet, blood smeared across his nose and both cheeks.
All the while, Zurdo tried to subdue Benavidez with his bigger body and advertised power.
Benavidez answered the opening bell, looking smaller and somewhat cautious. Within the first round’s final minute, however, he landed the first significant punch, a short right hand. Zurdo countered. Then, however, Benavidez unleashed one of those swirling, blinding flurries, It was a sign of things to come.
In the second, Zurdo introduced Benavidez to some of that power. It was enough to back Bhim up a step or two. But Zurdo would quickly discover there was nothing he could do to slow down those hands
In the final second of the sixth, he encountered them again. Still, no counter. This time, the punches cascaded off of Zurdo’s face like incoming waves. Blood poured from his left eye. The right began to swell and take on the color of a purple grape. With one second left in the sixth, it was over. Cinco de Mayo, 2026, officially belonged to Benavidez, who stood in the middle of the ring and repeated his long-standing challenge to Canelo Alvarez, the last man to possess the valuable date..
There was no immediate answer from Canelo, who was at ringside. Then again, Canelo had just witnessed another reason nobody has been able to beat Benavidez, who — hands down — possesses the most devastating weapon in the prizefighting business.
Munguia wins belt, scores dominant decision
Jaime Munguia promised he would return to Tijuana with a title.
Promise fulfilled.
Munguia (46-3, 35 KOs) is homeward bound with a World Boxing Association super-middleweight belt in his bags after he easily beat Armando Resendiz ((48-2, 30 KOs)with superior hand speed, precision and even some surprising endurance.Saturday in the final fight before the David Benavidez-Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez main event at T-Mobile Arena.
For all but the final seconds of the final round, the fight was a mismatch. Put it this way: Munguia dominated Resendiz the way Canelo Alvarez dominated Munguia two years ago. Canelo was there, seated at ringside in support of Munguia. Canelo, who wore a T-shirt that said Jaime, is trained by Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Munguia, who left the ring amid a chorus of Cinco de Mayo cheers.
Within the first few moments, it was clear that Resendiz never had a chance. The scorecards would confirm that. It was Munguia –117-111, 119-109, 120-108. Only in the final seconds did it ever look as if Resendiz, a fellow Mexican, had a chance.
Munguia was attempting to score a knockout. He swung wildly, leaving himself open. That’s when Resendiz landed a huge overhand right. But Munguia withstood it. Seconds later, he had his promised belt.
Duarte wins controversial split decision
It began in controversy.
It ended in controversy.
For the winner, there were boos, lots of them.
Oscar Duarte heard them after he was given a split decision over Angel Fierro Saturday night on a Cinco de Mayo card featuring David Benavidez against Zurdo Ramirez at T-Mobile Arena.
“I thought I won this fight,” Duarte (31-2-1, 23 KOs) said. “I believe I won this fight.”
But the chorus of boos said loudly that many didn’t agree. Fierro looked to be in control early. Then, Duarte fought his way back over the final few rounds. Two cards had it for Duarte, 115-113 and 116-112. The third had it 116-112 for Fierro, The Boxing Hour scored it a draw.
Fierro, who was three-plus pounds over the 140-pound mandatory Friday, rocked Duarte repeatedly in the early rounds with a right, a lightning bolt of a punch. Fierro also got floored after the bell ending the fourth. But that right continued to land over the next couple of rounds.
Jose Tito Sanchez wakes up crowd, scores stoppage
A restless, late-arriving crowd finally got a wake up call, delivered by Jose Tito Sanchez.
Sanchez (16-0, 10 KOs) threw a succession of powerful combinations that put Jorge Chavez down twice in the 10th, a round that finally got fans out of their seats Saturday at T-Mobile Arena Saturday night on the Benavidez-Zurdo card.
After seven slow-paced bouts on the undercard, Sanchez struck. Suddenly, the crowd roared. It was as if Cinco de Mayo had finally arrived. Only Chavez (18-1-1, 14 KOs), a junior-featherweight from Tijuana, didn’t celebrate.
First ,a five-punch combo dropped him flat on the canvas. Somehow, he got upright. But not for long. Sanchez, of Cathedral City CA, quickly followed with another multi-punch combo, finishing Chavez at 2:30 of the 10th.
Ismael Flores scores 154-pound upset
Ismael Flores combined pressure to poise and added just enough patience to a thorough attack that left Isaac Lucero with only one option.
He backpedaled, backpedaled all the way into a one-sided scorecard loss Saturday on the card featuring Benavidez-Zurdo Saturday at T-Mobile Arena
Flores (18-1-1, 12 KOs), a junior-middleweight from Argentina, sustained his tactical mix throughout 10 rounds, scoring a 98-92, 99-91, 98-92 upset of the favored Mexican, (18-1, 14 KOs), a 9-to-1 betting favorite at opening bell.
Blancas ices Salomon, wins decision
Daniel Blancas calls himself “The Ice Man.” Raul Salomon found out why.
Blancos, still an unbeaten (15-0, 7 KOs) super-middleweight from Milwaukee, repeatedly stopped Salomon’s forward pursuit throughout most of a hard-fought 10 rounds on Benavidez-Zurdo card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
It often looked as if the chilling sting in Blanco’s pouches froze Salomon (16-4-1, 14 KOs) in his tracks, leaving the Southern California fighter without many alternatives in a unanimous-decision loss
Capetillo escapes with narrow decision
Dylan Capetillo, a Las Vegas junior-welterweight, scored repeatedly throughout three-plus rounds and then held onto his scorecard advantage, eluding a late charge from James Pierce for a narrow decision Saturday in the fifth bout on a pay-per-view card featuring Benavidez-Zurdo Saturday at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Capetillo won 39-37 on all three cards over Pierce (2-1, 2 KOs), a Phoenix fighte
Carrillo stays unbeaten, delivers body-shot KO
It only takes one punch and Jose Carrillo, of Colombia, threw it, a lethal body shot that sent Marlon Delgado onto the canvas and kept him there for a fifth-round knockout in the fourth bout Saturday on the card featuring Benavidez-Zurdo at T-Mobile Arena..
The punch suddenly reversed Carrillo’s fortunes. Through four rounds, Carrillo (15-0, 11 KOs) was losing to a more active and precise Delgado, an Ecuadorian who lost for the first time in nine light-heavyweight bouts (8-1, 6 KOs).
No knockdowns, no winner either
There were no knockdowns. No cuts or bruising punches..
In the end, there was no winner either.
Julio Ocampo Hernandez, a Washington fighter who trains at David Benavidez’ Seattle gym, and Carlos Lewis, of Oklahoma City, fought to a draw in the third bout on the Benavidez-Zurdo-featured card Saturday.
Neither lightweight could gain much of an advantage throughout the six rounds.One judge scored 58-56 for Hernandez (9-0-1, 5 KOs). One judge scored 58-56 for Lewis (5-1-1, 3 KOs). On the third scorecard, it was 55-55.
Junior-welterweight Javier Meza dominates, wins TKO
Junior welterweight Javier Meza had more hand speed, more power, more accuracy.
More of everything.
Meza (6-0, 3 KOs) overwhelmed Damonte Smith (3-1, 1 KO), an Iowa fighter was knocked down twice in the fourth and was finished, a TKO victim, in the fifth round of the second fight on the Benavidez-Zurdo card Saturday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
First Bell: Middleweight Khamukov delivers opening salvo, wins decision
Sometime between brunch and lunch, the show opened in a ring with more people within the ropes than in the seats.
About eight hours before David Benavidez and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez would enter the ring, middleweights Petr Khamukov (14-1,6 KOs) of Los Angeles and Bernard Joseph of Massachusetts got things started in an empty T-Mobile Arena.
With punches echoing throughout the venue, a more aggressive Khamukov, prevailed winning a 10-round unanimous decision, 99-91, 98-92, 99-91.