De La Hoya Calls Zurdo a "Sleeper" and Questions Benavidez Chin

• Oscar De La Hoya has gone public saying Gilberto Ramirez is "a sleeper" who can beat David Benavidez at cruiserweight on Saturday's T-Mobile Arena PPV
• De La Hoya questioned Benavidez's chin, claiming he "doesn't throw everything with power" and lacks durability stepping up from 175lbs
• Benavidez (31-0) is a -390 favourite over Ramirez (48-1) on a Cinco de Mayo Prime Video PPV — but the Mexican legend reckons there's a real upset brewing

De La Hoya Pulls No Punches on Benavidez

Right then, this one's caught my eye on fight week. Oscar De La Hoya, of all people, has come out swinging at David Benavidez ahead of Saturday's Cinco de Mayo cruiserweight headliner — and he's not been shy about it. The Golden Boy says Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez is "a sleeper" who can beat Benavidez, and questions whether the Phoenix man has the chin to operate at 200 pounds. De La Hoya's exact words this week: Benavidez "throws a lot of punches" but "doesn't throw everything with power, and he doesn't really have a good chin." That's a proper jab from a Mexican icon at a Mexican-American star on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Make no mistake, that's not lazy talk. Oscar's promoted Zurdo for years, but he's also a former six-weight world champion who knows what real cruiserweight power feels like. When he flags a chin concern, you don't dismiss it.

Is the Chin Question Fair?

Let's not beat around the bush — Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) has never been off his feet as a pro. Not once. He's eaten clean shots from David Lemieux, from Caleb Plant, from Demetrius Andrade, from Anthony Yarde, and stayed composed every time. That's not a chin question. That's a granite chin question. So on the surface, De La Hoya's take looks like classic promoter sales talk on fight week. But there's a twist, and it's the one that matters. Benavidez has done all of that at 168 pounds, with one trip to 175 against Yarde. He's now stepping up to a full cruiserweight where the natural power level jumps significantly. Zurdo Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) has been a cruiserweight for years, has unified the WBA and WBO straps, and he's a southpaw with proper one-shot power in his right hook. That right hook is the punch that's troubled Benavidez in sparring — and De La Hoya is right that we haven't actually seen Benavidez tested by a genuine cruiserweight puncher yet.

Why Zurdo as a Sleeper Has Legs

The "sleeper" framing is actually quite sharp from Oscar. Zurdo is a +290 underdog. The betting market has Benavidez at -390. Most fans assume El Monstro just bullies the bigger man and stops him in the championship rounds. But Ramirez has a few things going for him that the market is undercooking. First, the size advantage is real. Ramirez has lived at 200 pounds for years; Benavidez is fundamentally a super middleweight with a cruiserweight body. Second, Ramirez can box. He's not just a brawler — he's got a stiff jab, a long lead hand, and he uses range better than most southpaws at the top of the division. Third, and Oscar's main point, is the volume question: Benavidez throws 75-plus punches a round, but at cruiserweight, that volume comes at the cost of getting hit by bigger shots in return. One Zurdo right hook lands flush in round seven and the dynamic of this fight changes overnight.

The Prediction

Look, my head still says Benavidez. The pressure, the body work, the engine — that's been the formula and Zurdo's never had to deal with that level of relentless pressure across twelve rounds. I've got Benavidez stopping Ramirez late, probably round ten or eleven, after grinding him down with the body. But I'm not dismissing De La Hoya here. Zurdo IS the sleeper. If he lands clean in the middle rounds, this thing flips fast. Don't be shocked if we get an upset on Cinco de Mayo. T-Mobile Arena. Prime Video PPV. Saturday night. I'll be watching with my hand near the alarm clock — knockout-of-the-year is on the table either way.