Less stressed without worrying about squeezing down to the light heavyweight limit of 175 pounds, Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) feels much more comfortable physically and mentally as his fight with WBA/WBO cruiserweight champ Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez nears. Benavidez believes it would be “dumb,” however, to abandon the profitable, historically significant championship path he created when he moved up from super middleweight to light heavyweight two years ago.

The Phoenix native is also confident that Dmitry Bivol would fight him next, assuming Benavidez beats Ramirez on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena and Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) defeats overmatched mandatory challenger Michael Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs) on May 30 at UMMC Arena in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Bivol, who will fight for the first time since he underwent back surgery in August, could also pursue a rubber match with fellow former undisputed light heavyweight champ Artur Beterbiev following the Eifert fight.

Benavidez is still more optimistic about finally facing Bivol than he was when Bivol gave up the WBC light heavyweight title in April 2025 rather than make a mandated defense against Benavidez. The 29-year-old Benavidez was elevated from interim champion once Bivol vacated that title and still owns it, despite the fact he has moved up 25 pounds to meet Ramirez.

“I definitely do think he’ll fight me,” Benavidez told The Ring regarding Bivol. “If anybody’s really competitive like that, I think it’s Bivol. So, I think he wants the fight. So, I don’t think he’s not gonna take that fight. I think he’s definitely gonna honor that. But we’ll see. At the end of the day, I might think something today and something else might happen tomorrow, so I don’t know. We’re taking it one fight at a time – Zurdo – but definitely I’m planning on getting Bivol right after Zurdo.”

Benavidez, ranked No. 7 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, also wants to test himself against Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), the only opponent who has beaten Bivol, who is ranked No. 5.

“I put on the matchmaker hat,” Benavidez said, “and the only fights I think are not only good for me, but also for the fans and the sport of boxing, are Bivol and Beterbiev. And I’m not gonna leave that weight class until I get both those fights.”

DraftKings lists Benavidez as a 4-1 favorite over Mexico’s Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs), a former WBO super middleweight titleholder who has lost only a one-sided unanimous decision to Bivol in November 2022 in Abu Dhabi.

Amazon’s Prime Video and DAZN will distribute Ramirez-Benavidez as the main event of a pay-per-view show in the United States ($79.99; 8 p.m. ET). The card is included for subscribers of DAZN’s Ultimate plan, which costs $44.99 per month in the U.S. and £24.99 in the UK.

Becoming champion in a third weight class partially prompted Benavidez’s brief move up in weight, as did the marketability of a fight with Ramirez on “Cinco de Mayo” weekend in Las Vegas. “The Mexican Monster” would feel unfulfilled, though, if he didn’t complete his championship mission against Bivol, who owns The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO titles.

“I have an obligation to myself to go back down,” Benavidez said. “It’d be dumb, an error on my part, if I don’t go back down and try to get the belts. Even if I feel real good now, there’s just too many fights, good fights, to be made at 175 for me to leave that on the table. At the end of the day, I’m gonna need fights, especially if I’m thinking of fighting for the next 10 years.

“So, right there at ’75 I got two or three fights. I can come back up to cruiserweight and maybe go back down. I’m not taking light heavyweight off the table at all. If anything, I’m gonna work even harder to get back down there, to go and win those titles, because that’s already something I’m in position to do. And I don’t like to leave things on the table.”