David Benavidez is counting on his professional experience to carry him to victory against undefeated David Morrell on February 1st in their 12-round bout at PBC on Prime Video PPV.
The ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez predicts that he will soon be the “Face of Boxing” and that he sees this fight as his “takeover”. He’s obviously not lacking in confidence going into the Morrell fight.
Benavidez’s confidence
David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) says he can’t wait to add Morrell’s WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title to his collection. He currently holds the WBC’s interim 175-lb belt, a trinket title that guarantees him a title shot against champion Artur Beterbiev if he prevails against Morrell.
Benavidez-Morrell headlines the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This is a fight that many boxing fans see as a 50-50, but not Benavidez. He sees it as a sure win for him, but that’s the way he is.
If he were to fight Beterbiev, Jai Opetaia or even Daniel Dubois, he would probably be just as confident of victory. He’s one of those guys who has huge egos shaped by years of promotions in 168 years, and he’s yet to fight an A-level fighter in his career.
Morrell is the closest thing to being that kind of fighter. That’s what makes it interesting: Benavidez will have to show if he’s as good as he thinks he is. I feel like he’s not because his brother, Jose Benavidez Jr., is the same way. He’s lost every time he’s gone up against A-level opposition, but he’s always dead-set on winning. It will be Benavidez’s first time and he could also lose.
PBC PPV Undercard Matches
Brandon Figueroa vs. Stephen Fulton
Yoenli Hernandez vs. Angel Ruiz Astorga
Isaac Cruz vs. Angel Fierro Barreda
Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr. vs. Jason Rosario
Mirco Cuello vs. Christian Olivo
Experience vs. power
“I don’t see the amateur as anyone [advantage]. This is not an amateur fight,” David Benavidez told the media when asked about the experience advantage David Morrell has over him from his days as an amateur star in Cuba.
“This is a 12-round championship fight. He may have a three-round advantage because of his amateur [experience]but beyond that, three rounds mean nothing. I’ve been in with the better fighters, and the bigger venues and the bigger fights. This is my third or fourth PPV.
“So I have experience on my side. I don’t think he’s ever been in anything like this and I’m going to show why I’m on another level. He knew he bit off more than he could chew, ” Benavidez said of Morrell.
Amateur experience matters when a fighter has the kind of success Morrell had in Cuba. As an amateur, he was 130-2, and that could affect this fight if he can handle Benavidez’s pressure. Morrell cannot move for 12 rounds.
He will have to stand his ground and fight Benavidez to win because if he tries to move like he did in his debut at 175 on August 3 against Radivoje Kalajdzic, he will lose a decision. Benavidez will have the advantage in punch output, but Morrell can take that away by knocking him out. That is what he will have to do.
Benavidez has a thick skull and seems to take shots like they’re nothing. He has a forehead like a drive-in movie theater. The punches Oleksandr Gvozdyk threw at him with full force had no effect and were more powerful than the ones he connected with. He took them. Morrell hits harder, though, and he won’t wear himself out with movement like Gvozdyk did. The 37-year-old looked tired and old in that fight with Benavidez last June.
“I know what I can do. Every high-caliber fighter says the same thing, but once they get in the ring with me, they say, ‘David Benavidez is on another level.’ I’m really motivated. I’m going to go in there and get that WBA belt. So I’m very excited to land one of those,” said Benavidez.
‘The Mexican Monster’ has yet to fight a “high caliber fighter” during his career. I also don’t know that Morrell is a “high-caliber” fighter, but he fights at a higher level than the best guys Benavidez has fought.
Morrell’s power and technical skills make him a threat, especially with the way Benavidez focuses on loading up on everything he throws. He is ruthless with the way he fights and he will eventually get knocked out when he fights like that. Will Morrell be the one to do it? We don’t know, but I wouldn’t be shocked.
So it is unclear who he is talking about. His best wins have come against 37-year-old Oleksandr Gvozdyk, 36-year-old Demetrius Andrade and Caleb Plant. These are NOT “high caliber” fighters.
Andrade was a good fighter years ago when he was 154, but he was too old and small to fight light heavyweight size Benavidez at 168. David looked huge rehydrating for Andrade and didn’t look like a super middleweight. There was no way Demetrius was going to beat Benavidez with him that much bigger. If things were even and Andrade was young and the fight was held at 154 back in 2012, he would have had a chance, but not at 168 against a much younger light-heavyweight sized Benavidez.
Gvozdyk had been retired for four years after being knocked out by Artur Beterbiev in 2019. He came back and hit a few tomato cans before being selected by Benanvidez’s management. This was not the best version of Oleksandr who had lost to Beterbiev and knocked out Adonis Stevenson.
The face of boxing?
“This is my takeover. When I see fighters in Vegas, I feel like I could take this over. I really entertain and give good fights. I want this for myself. I want to show people that I’m the best. When I go in there, everyone sees the level. I’m just excited to make my dreams come true and be the face of boxing,” said Benavidez.
It will be difficult for Benavidez to become ‘The Face of Boxing’ without beating Morrell or the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch. With the way Benavidez loads up on every punch and puts everything into it, he’ll be in trouble against Morrell or Beterbiev if he gets that far.
The way Benavidez fought Oleksandr Gvozdyk last June will hurt him badly. Fortunately for him, Gvozdyk mostly pressed his punches and didn’t put maximum force on them. As he began to load up on his shots in the second half, he lit up Benavidez with head shots.
In the last 30 seconds of the 12th, he hurt Benavidez with a right hand to the body. Morrell is much faster, younger and more powerful than Gvozdyk. He wants to hurt Benavidez. I don’t think the ‘Mexican Monster’ can change because that’s how he’s always fought and he’s incapable of trying to box. When he’s on the outside, he loads up on wild hooks and that becomes a problem against Morrell. He will counter him and we could see a one punch knockout win for Morrell.
