Besides giant sombreros, Corona beer ads, and too many tequila shots, Cinco de Mayo has also become synonymous in recent decades with Mexican boxing, as the sport’s promoters put on major shows that often showcase the sport’s biggest Mexican superstar against an outstanding rival. It’s often called boxing’s Super Bowl weekend.
But the glamour has rubbed off in recent years. Matchups haven’t been as attractive. And over the past several years, the Mexican portion of the Mexican holiday has disappeared, with the main events often featuring American and foreign-born fighters.
But Cinco de Mayo returns to its Raza roots in 2026. The card features two Hispanics who cause plenty of panic: one, a Mexican national, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez from Mazatlán, MX, and the other, a Mexican-American, David Benavidez from Phoenix, AZ. And, in this age where too many belts denote manufactured “history,” – this fight does have some historical relevance: these are two of the biggest Mexican fighters to ever vie for a belt above 168 pounds, as the combatants will fight for Ramirez’s WBO & WBA cruiserweight titles at T-Mobile Arena May 2 in Las Vegas, NV (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT, on pay-per-view).
In the past, there have been Mexican fighters like heavyweight Andy Ruiz and light heavyweight Yaqui Lopez who have fought for and won world titles. But rarely have they fought a fellow Hispanic for two major belts.
CINCO DE MAYO RETROSPECTIVE
The boxing marriage with Cinco de Mayo has its beginnings in a show that happened on May 8, 1993, when Julio Cesar Chavez appeared on a card that featured British puncher Lennox Lewis headlining for the first time in the United States, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. With Lewis’s popularity still on the ascent, Chavez – considered the greatest Mexican boxer in history – was the local draw for promoter Don King. At the time, Chavez was the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and was coming off his most widely seen outing: a 5th-round knockout of Greg Haugen that drew 132,000 people to Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Lewis and Chavez delivered, beating Tony Tucker and Terrence Alli (and Gerald McClellan beating Julian Jackson in a slugfest on the undercard). King noticed that Mexicans and Americans alike were ready to party on the first weekend in May (whether they knew the significance of the Battle of Puebla or not), and he smartly made it a regular part of the operation.
A year later, King went big on Cinco de Mayo weekend, as the great Chavez headlined a card where he was attempting to gain revenge for his first official loss to Frankie Randall. But King also put three other “revenge” style championship rematches on the card that set the standard for the weekend. Thirty-three years later, “Revenge: The Rematches” still holds up as one of the greatest boxing shows in history.
Top Rank’s Bob Arum took the Cinco de Mayo baton from King in 1995, and pitted his new star, Mexican-American Oscar De La Hoya, against Mexican-born Rafael Ruelas in the “Golden Boy’s” first major fight. De La Hoya took out Ruelas in round two and basically took over Cinco de Mayo weekend with knockouts of Yory Boy Campas in 2003 and Ricardo Mayorga in 2006.
When Floyd Mayweather beat De La Hoya on Cinco de Mayo 2007 in one of the biggest fights of all time, the weekend became synonymous with “Money” fights – a.k.a “Cinco de Mayweather.” He became known as the “Pay-Per-View King” in wins over Miguel Cotto in 2012, Robert Guerrero in 2013, and Marcos Maidana in 2014. In 2015, he took on Manny Pacquiao on Cinco de Mayo weekend in what remains the highest-grossing fight in boxing history.
Finally, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez took over the weekend with fights against Amir Khan (2016), Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (2017), Daniel Jacobs (2019), Billy Joe Saunders (2021), Dmitry Bivol (2022), John Ryder (2023), and Jaime Munguia (2024).
With all of the Cinco de Mayo fights in Las Vegas (with one exception, Dallas), the weekend went abroad last year, as Canelo took on William Scull in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The weekend also included a card featuring Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, and Ryan Garcia in Times Square, Manhattan. Neither card was the spectacle to which fight fans had grown accustomed.
This weekend promises to change all that.
DAVID BENAVIDEZ VS. GILBERTO ‘ZURDO’ RAMIREZ
Benavidez, 31-0 (25 knockouts), a two-division titlist known as the “Mexican Monster,” is going for his third divisional title. He is a throwback Mexican fighter who talks the talk and walks the walk – aggressively pursuing opponents until they are finished. He has a strong killer instinct in the vein of Pipino Cuevas and is not timid to go for the jugular. At 6-foot-2, he is a powerful puncher but also agile and versatile. He has good hand speed and throws punches in bunches. He is on the cusp of becoming a superstar and is already a huge draw among the Mexican fans, especially in his hometown, because of his entertaining, go-for-broke style. The fact that he has been calling out Canelo for years has made him even more popular and has added credibility to his stance that Alvarez is scared to fight him.
He is on one of boxing’s most impressive runs, having beaten Caleb Plant (W 12), Demetrius Andrade (TKO 6), Oleksandr Gvozdyk (W 12), David Morrell (W 12), and Anthony Yarde (TKO 7) over the last three years.
Benavidez has not lost a fight, but he has lost titles due to his own indiscretions. In 2018, he tested positive for illegal drugs and was removed as WBC super middleweight champion; and in 2020, he lost the same WBC title at the scales when he came in three pounds heavy for a fight against Roamer Angulo.
‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, 48-1 (30 KOs), is also a two-division world champion and the reigning WBO and WBA cruiserweight champ by virtue of a decision over previously undefeated Arsen Goulamirian in 2024. He has defended the titles twice, outpointing Chris Billam-Smith over 12 in November of the same year and Yuniel Dorticos in June 2025. Before that, he reigned as WBO super middleweight champion for two years and five defenses, having won the title from Arthur Abraham in 2016 and defending it against Maksym Bursak (W 12), Jesse Hart twice (W 12), Habib Ahmed (TKO 6), and the aforementioned Angulo (W 12).
A southpaw with good boxing skills, Zurdo is not your typical face-first Mexican brawler. He is well educated behind the jab, and he has good movement and agility. But he does like to brawl, and though he is not known as a huge puncher, he can whack.
At 6-foot-2 and with a 75-inch reach, he and Benavidez are almost mirror images of one another physically. After years of operating in the shadows of Mexican countryman Canelo and others, Zurdo knows this is his big opportunity. He is a technician, but there is little doubt that the crowd and the high stakes of this fight will convince both guys to lock horns.
Consider what we’ve seen in the past when Latinos fight on Cinco de Mayo. When pride is on the line, the leather flies.
Check out the charged atmosphere and bad blood when De La Hoya knocked out Ruelas. Or the bad blood, 11 years later, when De La Hoya flattened Mayorga. And one of Canelo’s most entertaining fights was his civil war with Munguia.
Typically, when you get two Latinos together – particularly two Mexicans – you’ll get intensity, drama, and a good, old-fashioned brawl to go with that Tecate.
THE FIST OF MAY: LIST OF CINCO DE MAYO FIGHTS
May 8, 1993: Julio Cesar Chavez-Terrence Alli
May 7, 1994: Julio Cesar Chavez-Frankie Randall 2
May 5, 1995: Oscar De La Hoya-Rafael Ruelas
May 4, 1996: Marco Antonio Barrera-Jesse Benavidez
May 3, 1997: Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson 2 (postponed due to injury)
May 4, 2002: Oscar De La Hoya-Fernando Vargas (postponed due to injury)
May 3, 2003: Oscar De La Hoya-Yory Boy Campas
May 8, 2004: Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez 1
May 7, 2005: Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo
May 6, 2006: Oscar De La Hoya-Ricardo Mayorga
May 5, 2007: Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya
May 3, 2008: Oscar De La Hoya-Steve Forbes
May 2, 2009:Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton
May 1, 2010: Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley
May 7, 2011: Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley
May 5, 2012: Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto
May 4, 2013: Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero
May 3, 2014: Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana 1
May 2, 2015: Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao
May 7, 2016: Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan
May 6, 2017: Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
May 5, 2018: Gennadiy Golovkin-Vanes Martirosyan
May 4, 2019: Canelo Alvarez-Daniel Jacobs
May 8, 2021: Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders
May 7, 2022: Dmitry Bivol-Canelo Alvarez
May 6, 2023: Canelo Alvarez-John Ryder
May 4, 2024: Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia
May 3, 2025: Canelo Alvarez-William Scull
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