In two months’ time, Gilberto Ramirez and David Benavidez collide in one of the most hotly-anticipated bouts of the 2026 calendar, and a fighter who has regularly sparred both has offered his opinion on the contest.

Benavidez became the youngest super-middleweight world champion of all time when he defeated Ronald Gavril in 2017, but ‘The Mexican Monster’ has since moved up to light-heavyweight and become a two-division world champion.

Now, he seeks success in a third weight-class, as he makes the quantum leap up to the cruiserweight scene and takes on unified WBA & WBO champion ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez upon his debut at 200lbs.

Speaking to FightHype ahead of that battle, two-time world title challenger Gabe Rosado, who has shared a number of rounds with both men in the gym, revealed that he is leaning towards Benavidez due to his intensity and volume.

“Zurdo and Benavidez, we have sparred a number of times, I have lost count of how many times I have sparred those dudes because I have been sparring Benavidez since he was like 15 years old. I used to do my training camps in Arizona, in Phoenix, so I was working with him and then he eventually came to Wild Card [Boxing Club] and the same with Zurdo.

“The difference, I would say, is that Zurdo is more on working on things and Benavidez is more aggressive. Benavidez does like 10 rounds in sparring, so I think that the intensity is just different man.

“The thing is, since I have sparred with them for so long, we always had good rhythm working together and we were really similar to each other.

“I think that it is a tough fight, but I think you have got to favour Benavidez, just because of the volume. I think that Zurdo is going to have to be on his A-game, he is going to have to be the best Zurdo, in order to beat Benavidez. He is going to have to really box well, stick a jab out there and be in tip-top shape [to win].”

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Time will tell whether ‘The Mexican Monster’ can indeed get the victory when the fight with Ramirez takes place on Saturday, May 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Shakur Stevenson has offered a balanced assessment of why a showdown between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez is yet to materialise.

The two multi-weight world champions appeared to be on a collision course at 168lbs, with Canelo reigning supreme as the undisputed king.

Benavidez, meanwhile, had held the WBC ‘interim’ title after becoming a two-time world super-middleweight champion, awaiting his mandatory shot at the full WBC title.

Such an opportunity, however, never came to fruition, as Canelo continued to defend his undisputed crown against alternative opposition.

During this time, the Mexican claimed one-sided points victories over the likes of John Ryder and Jermell Charlo but was widely criticised for not facing his most formidable challenger, Benavidez.

Since then, Benavidez has claimed the WBC title at 175lbs and now looks to become a three-weight world champion against Gilberto Ramirez, who he will face for the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles on May 2.

It may seem an audacious move, but the 29-year-old’s frame could see him develop into an effective operator at 200lbs, while Canelo is seemingly best suited to 168lbs.

The natural size difference has therefore made their clash even less likely, with Stevenson telling Joe Rogan that he believes this to be the most significant factor.

“Benavidez is too big for Canelo. I see both sides. I love Benavidez, and I’m a fan of him, so I see the side of, ‘Fight me, bro’.

“But then I see Canelo’s side. He’s like, ‘Man, this dude is 200lbs on the regular. I’m nowhere near that weight so it’s like, why would I fight this guy?’”

Despite coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Terence Crawford, Canelo has been promised a world title opportunity by Turki Alalshikh in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this September.

Potential options include Christian Mbilli and Jose Armando Resendiz, the respective WBC and WBA champions, while the IBF and WBO super-middleweight world titles remain vacant following Crawford’s retirement.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced announced on Sunday that New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat had been fined $2,500 for his unsportsmanlike conduct towards San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund during their 2-1 win on Saturday at SAP Center on the road.

The incident occurred with less than four minutes to play in the third period. Horvat skated towards the Sharks bench, let go of his stick and flicked Eklund’s helmet aggressively before skating away. The interaction drew no response from Eklund, although Sharks’ Tyler Toffoli was seen getting agitated by Horvat’s actions.

Unfortunately for the Isles center, the NHL Department of Player Safety also didn’t take kindly to the incident. They gave a briefing about their judgment of the fine on Sunday, which read:

“New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat has been fined $2,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct against San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund at the San Jose bench during NHL Game No. 999 in San Jose on Saturday, March 7, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

“The incident occurred at 16:15 of the third period. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.”

Fans reacted on social media after the announcement. They felt that the league was too harsh on Horvat and the massive fine wasn’t warranted.

Here are a few reactions:

“(George) Parros is getting soft in his old age,” a fan said about the head of the NHL Department of Player Safety.

“So players can’t joke around anymore??? What is this,” a fan questioned.

“$2500 for a little bench chat? NHL’s lost the plot,” a fan wrote.

“Chirping someone on the bench is a fine ?? Lol,” a fan commented.

“Cross checks to the face are accepted but a helmet flip is a fine??” another fan questioned.

“Bruh this is literally human nature, grow up NHL,” a fan added.

Both Horvat and Eklund are key players on their respective lineups. Horvat has scored 27 goals in 50 games for the club and is eight goals away from a career high for a season. Eklund is the No.7 overall pick from the 2021 NHL Draft. He has 148 points in his career with 38 coming this season.

Macklin Celebrini shies away from commenting on Matthew Barzal hit

Many fans contested on social media that instead of Horvat, Isles’ Matthew Barzal should have been penalized for a huge hit on Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini a few moments before his incident occurred in the third period. While traversing towards the puck that was in possession of the Islanders, Celebrini took a hit from Barzal and looked shaken up.

During the postgame interviews he walked away when asked about Barzal’s conduct.

The Sharks are locked in battle for the Western Conference Wild Card spots. They are trailing the Seattle Kraken, who hold the second spot, by a point after Sunday.