Benavidez KOs Ramirez in the 6th to win the WBA and WBO cruiserweight…

LAS VEGAS (AP) — David Benavidez became the first boxer to win championships at 168, 175 and 200 pounds, pounding his former sparring partner Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and knocking him out at 2:59 of the sixth round to win the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles on Saturday night.

Benavidez (32-0, 26 knockouts) not only remained undefeated, but showed why he was a -600 favorite in twice sending Ramirez (48-2, 30 KOs) to the canvas.

In the co-main event, WBA super middleweight championship fight, Jaime Munguía (46-2, 35 KOs) upset title holder Armando Reséndiz (16-3, 11 KOs) by winning a resounding unanimous decision. Reséndiz was a -200 favorite, but Munguía — the former WBO junior middleweight champ — was the aggressor from the start and won by scores of 117-111, 119-109 and 120-108. cricket-ipl.in

“It feels great to have this championship belt with me, but this is just the beginning," Munguía said. "I’m excited for what comes next. We are ready for big challenges and great fights.”

Benavidez fought with Canelo Alvarez sitting ring side. He had chased Canelo with hopes of setting up a showdown, but Alvarez never agreed to it, and it might never happen.

“I see Canelo in the building,” Benavidez said to cheers, again arguing they should meet.

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Boxing fans, or least those who support Benavidez, haven't forgotten how Canelo has yet to take on the match. Alvarez, wearing a black Munguía T-shirt, was booed all three times he was shown on the large video board. Benavidez, who was born in Phoenix and lives in Miami, later was cheered while shown going through prefight preparations.

He then gave his fans plenty more to cheer about.

Benavidez, even when being backed down by Ramirez, delivered his signature rapid-fire combinations, usually pelting his opponent's head. A right hand to Ramirez's head in the fourth staggered him, and Benavidez went for the knockout but settled for the knockdown at the end of the round when Zurdo went down to his left knee.

Then two rounds later, Ramirez again went to a knee. This time, the fight was over.

And now the 29-year-old Benavidez can make a credible argument after dominating the 34-year-old Mexican that he one of the sport's best pound-for-pound boxers if not right at the top.

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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing

Jaime Munguia enjoyed a career renaissance Saturday night in Las Vegas, looking world class with his unrelenting dominance of Jose Resendiz to capture the WBA super middleweight title on the David Benavidez vs. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez undercard inside the T-Mobile Arena.

Since his lopsided 2024 defeat to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Munguia’s career had become a tabloid editor's dream but a promoter's nightmare. A rebound knockout win over Erik Bazinyan preceded a baffling sixth-round collapse against the unheralded Bruno Surace. Even when he rectified that loss in a May 2025 rematch, a positive test for exogenous testosterone cast a dark shadow over the former WBO super welterweight champion’s future.

But on Saturday, it looked like Munguia (46-2, 35 KOs) was motivated not just to add another championship to his honors roll, but recapture the relevancy he once had.

Against Resendiz (16-3, 11 KOs), the favorite heading into the fight, he did just that.

Resendiz, 27, had punched his way to the top by dismantling Caleb Plant in an upset last year, and walked to the ring on Cinco de Mayo weekend with the WBA’s blessing as their full super middleweight champion. He was the man with the momentum — and the belt — while Munguia had the problems.

But once the bell rang for this co-feature to the Benavidez-Ramirez cruiserweight showdown, the narratives quickly shifted.

Under the guidance of trainer Eddy Reynoso, Munguia fought with a newfound, spiteful discipline, as “Canelo” himself said mid-fight on the Prime Video pay-per-view broadcast.

“He did a great job in the gym and he learned a lot to [apply] that in the fight,” Alvarez said of his stablemate.

“I always try to give advice but Eddy Reynoso is the one who taught him, and he’s done a good job.”

A good job is an understatement.

Munguia, 29, looked physically imposing at the super middleweight limit, with hulking biceps and shoulders — like a light heavyweight despite weighing 167.4 pounds. He was only 0.4 pounds more than Resendiz on the scales, but visibly more on the night.

Resendiz brought his trademark pressure but it was plodding and predictable, and so Munguia picked him apart with volume, surgical body work and thudding uppercuts. Even by the third round, the crowd favorite’s efficiency was clear as he out-landed his opponent by 21 shots to five.

In the fourth, Resendiz found some success as he took constant forward steps to get on the inside, backing Munguia against the ropes — an area Reynoso told his fighter to stay away from.

But Munguia’s response was one of fortitude as he refused to concede anything to Resendiz, unleashing a brutal left uppercut to the face, right hook to the body combination to punish the defending champion for having the nerve to trade.

Taking heed of Reynoso’s advice to hit him with a 1-2-3 before getting out, Munguia controlled the middle of the ring and, by the 10th round, Resendiz, the champion, was depleted of all confidence and no longer able, or willing, to swang and bang.

To reiterate his comfort level, Munguia danced on the periphery before punishing Resendiz for every lead step forward.

This was a world-class dismantling. It made Munguia a two-weight world champion, but perhaps more importantly, it reminded the boxing world why they were excited about him in the first place.

Munguia is back, and after a unanimous decision win with scores of 117-111, 119-109 and 120-109, he has a new championship belt to prove it.

For full coverage of Benavidez vs. Zurdo, including live results, play-by-play and highlights of the entire David Benavidez vs. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez main card, check out Uncrowned's fight night hub.

Their fortunes changed in a flash.

One moment, the UCLA men’s volleyball players were celebrating a trip to the Final Four.

The next, they were mourning the end of their season.

That’s how quickly the momentum shifted Saturday night after what appeared to be the winning point was wiped out by an official review during the Bruins’ NCAA Tournament quarterfinal against UC Irvine.

Given new life, the unseeded Anteaters went on to complete the comeback, knocking off top-seeded UCLA, 25-23, 19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 16-14, at Pauley Pavilion.

How big of an upset was this?

The Bruins (29-2) had lost just once previously this season, with their only other setback coming against Pepperdine a month ago.

“Being honest,” said UCLA senior outside hitter Zach Rama, his eyes reddened with sadness, “I don’t think it’s anything any of us expected just because of how confident we are and our ability to play together. I don’t think it’s fully hit me yet.”

Rama’s attack error on match point sparked a wild celebration for UC Irvine (20-8), which had trailed 8-4 in the fifth set and appeared momentarily beaten after an earlier match point had been awarded to the Bruins before being reversed.

Anteaters coach David Kniffin said he was confident the replay would given his team the critical point because he had heard a UCLA player touch the ball on the play.

“But sound doesn’t carry on a challenge review system,” Kniffin said, “so you never know what the camera is going to pick up. But, for me, it wasn’t even if we got the touch or not, it was about sustaining belief.”

In the Bruins’ huddle, there was determination to not let the call beat them twice.

“We did talk about being able to move on even if the call was to be overturned,” senior setter Andrew Rowan said, “so do our best to bounce back from a call like that.”

This was already an unusual situation for the Bruins, who were forced to rally to force the fifth set. They had trailed 2-1 only three times previously this season, including a comeback victory over the Anteaters on Feb. 28 that they won in five sets.

After the reversal on match point pulled the Anteaters to within 14-13, an attack error on UCLA middle blocker Cameron Thorne tied the score.

The Bruins then unsuccessfully challenged a kill by UC Irvine’s Andreas Brinck, which gave the Anteaters match point. They capitalized on Rama’s attack error that sailed out of bounds.

As their fans roared in approval, the Anteaters’ reserves bounded onto the court and senior William D’Arcy pulled the front of his jersey over his head in celebration.

Meanwhile, the Bruins were left to contemplate a Final Four that will be held without them on their home court. UC Irvine will play fourth-seeded Ball State in one semifinal May 9 at Pauley Pavilion, and third-seeded Long Beach State will play second-seeded Hawaii in the other semifinal.

“I mean, it’s obviously tough,” Rowan said. “It’s the first time we haven’t been past this game in our collegiate career, so it’s tough. It hasn’t really set in yet.”

UCLA’s seniors had been part of two championships before finishing as runners-up last season. There would be no happy ending in their farewell season.

“I’m incredibly sad for them,” Bruins coach John Hawks said. “We had an incredible run, and I’m sorry to see it end.”

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and David Benavidez went to war last night (Sat., May 2, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in a WBA and WBO Cruiserweight title fight to put a bow on a busy day of combat sports across boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) around the globe.

Benavidez was coming in as the challenger, but he dominated the headlines and the spotlight during fight week over the champion, and was even coming in the favorite. And it didn’t take long for him to prove why.

From the jump Benavidez went right at Zurdo and never backed down an inch. “The Mexican Monster” was the slightly smaller fighter, but he proved to be the faster one as he won the striking exchanges early and often. Despite putting on weight Benavidez unloaded one speedy combination after another and never broke stride.

In round four, the barrage of strikes started to take a toll on Zurdo, who had to take a knee in the closing seconds of the round, which was only his second knock down of his career. A couple of rounds later, Benavidez started to attack the right eye of Zurdo, which was closing fast, as well as his busted nose. In an wild exchange, Benavidez tagged the champion with a solid punch on the damaged eye that forced him to take another knee.

This time, however, Zurdo was unable to answer the count giving Benavidez the knockout victory and the titles.

Check out some of the highlights:

With the win, Benavidez (32-0) is now a three-division champion, winning straps at 168, 175 and now 200 pounds. After his win, “The Mexican Monster” once again called for a fight against Canelo Alvarez — who was in attendance —at 175 pounds. For now, Canelo is set to face Christian Mbilli later this year for the WBC Super Middleweight title, while Benavidez admitted Dmitry Bivol is next on his hit list.

If none of those bouts come to pass, Benavidez could be eyeing a title unification bout against current The Ring and Zuffa Cruiserweight title holder, Jai Opetaia, who called for the winner of the fight.

For more boxing news and notes click here.

Cruz Azul took a crucial lead in the Clausura 2026 quarter-finals by defeating Atlas 3-2 after a controversial and thrilling match at Estadio Jalisco.

La Máquina, who finished the regular season in third place, showed their attacking class in a match that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the very last moment.

The star of the night was Nigerian forward Christian Ebere, who bagged a vital brace for Cruz Azul’s hopes.

After a tight first half that ended with the visitors holding a slim lead thanks to a goal from Rodolfo Rotondi, Ebere extended the advantage in the 55th minute. It looked like the Mexico City side would cruise comfortably, but Atlas pushed forward.

The "Zorros" leveled the score thanks to a goal by Arturo González and a penalty from Aldo Rocha. However, the tie did not last long, as VAR intervened to award another penalty, this time in favor of Cruz Azul.

With this result, Atlas is forced to win by a two-goal margin in the second leg.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.