A bout between David Benavidez and Gilberto Ramirez has been talked about over the last year, and now it appears to be a reality.

Shortly after the WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez defended his title and stopped Anthony Yarde in seven rounds while headlining “The Ring IV: Night of the Champions” card in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, “The Mexican Monster” announced his next forthcoming matchup against “Zurdo.”

Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) said he is ready to step up to a new weight class and is set to square off against the WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) on May 2. Benavidez alluded that the location of the fight would be in Las Vegas.

At the moment, it’s not yet known if Ramirez is set to move forward with his planned tune-up tilt on January 16. Ramirez has been planning to shake off the cobwebs following shoulder surgery this summer, shortly after scoring a unanimous decision win against Yuniel Dorticos in June. Ramirez, from Mexico, is currently in camp training in Los Angeles.

The Mexican-American Benavidez appeared to exit his bout against Yarde (27-4, 24 KOs) mostly unscathed to make it in time for his Cinco De Mayo Weekend matchup.

“It’s definitely what I expected,” Benavidez said in the ring after stopping Yarde while outlanding him 159 to 58 in a one-sided fight.

“When I signed to fight Anthony Yarde, I said, ‘Oh man, this is gonna be a war.’ And this is what I dreamt about, you know, both of us going to war. I think he cut me in round six and I said, ‘You want a shootout? Let’s go for it, then.’ And you see what I did. He stepped into Monstruo’s world and he got KOd.”

A bout between Benavidez and Ramirez features a highly marketable matchup between fighters with Mexican heritage who are cordial and friendly with one another.

“Of course the [Benavidez] fight, people want to see,” Ramirez told The Ring earlier this year as the fight increasingly became a possibility.

“He's a great champion and a pound-for-pound fighter. Why not if he wants it too. We're friends, and I know his family, but if the money is right, we can make the fight happen. We've had amazing sparring sessions together that were pay per view worthy on its own. We can have a great fight against each other. It would be a fight of the year, like Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Juan Manuel Marquez – two Mexicans just throwing down with a lot of exciting punches.

“If he wants to move up to cruiserweight, we can make the fight happen. For me, I don't have a problem fighting a Mexican. I can fight anyone. I'm a fighter. That's what I do – fight.”

In a separate interview with The Ring this year, Jose Benavidez Sr., the father and trainer of David, said his son was ready for a fight against Ramirez.

“We can move up to cruiserweight to face Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez,” Benavidez Sr. told The Ring. “It would be an honor to face Zurdo. He's a great friend and fighter. That's what friends are for. Why not fight each other? We'll get to make money together. If it was up to me, I would love to face Bivol, then fight Beterbiev and then fight Zurdo Ramirez. That would be my dream and something we would like … At this point, David feels really good. He has the height for it. He feels good at 168, 175, and he can go to cruiserweight as well. He's right in the middle, and it's all about adjusting up or down.”