Those sparring sessions were described as “pay-per-view quality rounds.” Now, they will headline a pay-per-view show against each other on Cinco de Mayo weekend.

Benavidez will challenge Ramirez for his WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout headlines a Prime Video pay-per-view event ($79.99) and will also be streamed on DAZN Pay-Per-View ($79.99) and as part of the DAZN Ultimate plan ($44.99 monthly).

Benavidez, 29, is The Ring’s No. 8 fighter pound-for-pound and No. 1 light heavyweight. The Phoenix, Arizona, native holds the WBC light heavyweight title and beat Anthony Yarde by seventh-round stoppage in his first title defense.

Benavidez will fight at cruiserweight for the first time.

Ramirez, 34, is The Ring’s No. 1 cruiserweight challenger for Jai Opetaia's title. He became a unified cruiserweight champion in November 2024, when he beat Chris Billiam-Smith, The Ring’s No. 2 cruiserweight contender, by unanimous decision to win the WBO title.

In his lone defense as unified champion, Ramirez beat Yuniel Dorticos by unanimous decision on June 28.

Here are the CompuBox stats from Ramirez’s last 10 fights and Benavidez’s previous 13.

Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs):

Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs):

CompuBox stats back up Benavidez’s standing as one of the best fighters in the world. He ranks in the top 10 in the following categories among championship fighters:

For Ramirez, 71.6 percent of his punches thrown are combinations, which ranks sixth among championship fighters. He also averages 13.9 power punches landed per round.

Both guys attack the body, though it’s a bigger part of Ramirez’s offense — 30.5 percent of his punches landed per round are to the body compared to 25.1 percent for Benavidez.

Defensively, opponents average nine power punches landed per round (30.7%) against Ramirez. Against Benavidez, opponents average 7.2 power punches landed per round (26.2%).