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more and more comfortable, fight by fight, at 200 pounds. And, of course, he could focus more on technical training than weight loss, which can be a tactical advantage. “When he lost to Stevenson, he phoned me up and said he’s going to fight at 200 pounds,” Billows said. “He never lost a fight at cruiserweight and won a world title. Then, after he fought Haye at heavyweight, he tried to come back down and lost to one of the best fighters on the planet. “He got up [to 200 pounds] quite easily. It was his natural weight. He just concentrated on maintaining his diet. … Look at photos of Tony at 175 pounds. He looks like he came out of a concentration camp. He starved himself for six months. When he finally moved up in weight, he was a different fighter.” Does the same hold true for Ramirez and Benavidez?
Both of them started their professional careers at 168 pounds, meaning their long-term jump in weight will have been 32 pounds. (Ramirez even fought several times at 160.) One advantage both of them have is that they are relatively tall: Ramirez 6-foot-2½ and Benavidez 6-foot-2. Adamek and Bellew are 6-foot- 2 and 6-foot-3, respectively. Ramirez and Benavidez have frames that can hold 200 pounds. “In boxing or just in life, it doesn’t matter: If you’re short, you carry 200 pounds a lot differently than if you’re 6 feet or 6-1,” Mizzone said. “Ramirez and Benavidez are both tall. Even a guy like [6-foot-5½ junior middleweight] Sebastian Fundora could be a cruiserweight one day. They have the right frames. Certain guys wouldn’t be able to do that. “The jump from 175 to 200 is massive. But if you have the right frame
and you put on the weight the right way, you can have success.” Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) already has had success. His only loss came at 175 against another fighter with supreme talent, Dmitry Bivol, in 2022. He then moved up to 200, where he outpointed, in succession, Joe Smith Jr., Arsen Goulamirian (to win the WBA belt), Chris Billam-Smith (to win the WBO title) and Yuniel Dorticos. The 34-year-old Mexican is a good fit at 200 pounds. He’s tough, but he has relied more on excellent technical skills and measured aggression than physical strength to win fights, meaning he never expected to overpower cruiserweights. And while he wasn’t particularly
Ramirez outpointed Yuniel Dorticos and has settled at 200 pounds.
Benavidez overpowered Anthony Yarde in his last light heavyweight fight.
quick at 175, he probably has an advantage over most 200-pounders in that department. The results speak for themselves. However, Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) is already a solid favorite to beat Ramirez after only three light heavyweight fights, although he fought over the super middleweight limit a number of times early in his career. The 29-year-old from Arizona has destroyed everything in his path and built a strong following with a combination of ability, hand speed, punch volume and physical superiority. He’s No. 8 on The Ring’s pound-for- pound list and rising. And he apparently won’t have to drop any weight in his cruiserweight debut. “Yeah, definitely cruiserweight is on my radar, and I would love to compete at that weight,” Benavidez told The Ring a few days before he outpointed David Morrell in February of last
year. “I don’t even think I would have to cut any weight. Actually, I would probably have to gain some weight. I would be a completely different animal at cruiserweight.” Of course, it remains to be seen how Benavidez performs at 200 pounds. Adamek, Bellew and Ramirez all struggled to make the 175-pound limit, which made the move up to 200 a relief. That isn’t the case with Benavidez, which could be an added challenge for him at the higher weight. That’s probably one reason Benavidez has said he plans to go back down to 175 after his fight with Ramirez to pursue showdowns with 175-pound stars Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, although one has to assume he’ll return again to cruiserweight at some point. Waiting for him there could be Ring and IBF champion Jai Opetaia, a career-long 200-pounder who has no obvious weaknesses.
“Jumping from 175 to 200 can be hard,” said Bellew, who is now a TV analyst. “You’re basically going in with heavyweights. Whether you can do it successfully depends on the fighter himself and the opponent. “I don’t think Ramirez will pose too many problems for Benavidez. The only advantage Ramirez has is that he’s been at 200 longer. He’s been sparring bigger guys the last couple of years. I think the real problem [for Benavidez] will be Opetaia, who’s a bit of a wrecking machine. “I don’t see anyone beating Opetaia at 200 pounds. Then again, he’s talking about moving up to heavyweight. He could have problems at heavyweight.” That’s a different story.
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