Lonnie Thompson is tipping David Benavides to defeat David Morrell in their fight in 30 days on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Thompson sparred with Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and was impressed with his motor and the way he attacked his body.
Lonnie B thinks Interim WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Benavidez will crush WBA ‘Regular’ Champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) with pressure and knock him out at some point in the fight.
Underestimation of Morel
He sees Benavidez as a knockout for some reason, but he clearly isn’t, especially at 175, where he’s finally facing guys his size after years of campaigning against smaller fighters at 168. Morrell is a true knockout, and if he wants to KO this fight, he will do that.
“I have David Benavidez. David Morrell is really smooth, but he has a style where you have to put pressure on him. If you pressure him and go to his body, you will get him. David (Benavidez) specializes in that,” Lonnie Thompson said Professional boxing fansspeculating that Benavidez would beat Morel.
Considering Morell isn’t beaten, Thompson’s comment on how to beat him is based on guesswork, not one he’s seen before. No one has beaten Morel in the professional ranks or come close.
“He (Benavidez) has to be careful with smooth counters because David Morrell has a little bounce, and he has a nice contour. “I think the way David fights, it’s going to cause problems for David Morrell because he’s not going to let him be smooth, doing all the nice things he does with his feet,” Thompson said.
There’s more to Morrell than “a little pop.” He is probably the greatest puncher in the light heavyweight division. So for Lonnie to say that Morrell only has a “little” power suggests that he hasn’t watched him fight properly and has no idea what he’s talking about. He’s obviously more familiar with Benavides than Morel, which is understandable as he’s been a pro for 12 years since 2013 and has a lot of miles on the odometer.
“He will have to keep working and working. There’s going to come a point where he’s going to have to fight David because David (Benvidez) is good at coming in and letting go,” Lonnie B said. “So if David Morrell can catch him in between and hurt him, that’s the only chance I give him to win.”
No, Thompson is wrong. Morel has a better chance of winning this fight than knocking out Benavidez. He can beat him by decision by boxing him out or outplaying him. His boxing skills are superior to Benavidez’s due to his long amateur career, fighting top fighters in Cuba and on the world stage.
Benavidez wasn’t having it. He turned pro instead of going the amateur route and has always been a pure slugger, mostly due to fighting at a weight class below his massive welterweight super middleweight frame.
“David Benavidez showed me a lot. After his last fight (Olexandr Gvozdyk), no, he’s for real,” Thompson said of Benavides’ last fight against 37-year-old former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15.
“I don’t think he’s going to get many knockouts, but that kid hit him with a few punches.” That kid, Oleksandr (Gvozdik), hit him with some punches, and he can hit. He (Benavidez) received them well and came back and was letting his hands go,” said Lonnie B.
Sounds like Lonnie didn’t watch the Benavidez-Gvozdik fight. Benavidez is not “back”. He was shut down and beaten for the entire second half of the fight and was getting tarred by Gvozdik beating out of him in rounds 9 through 12. He was hit with shots that put a hole through the wall.
Yes, Benavidez took the punches, but he didn’t come back. He was a punching bag for the last four rounds. Lonnie B may have seen the highlights on YouTube favoring Benavidez, but that’s not how the fight played out in rounds six through twelve. David looked exhausted and weak, he was hit by a stronger Clove.
Thompson’s prediction
“However, David Morrell was not so tested. “I’m more in favor of David Benavidez because I sparred with him,” Thompson said. “He hits the body really well. Just from my observation, I don’t think David Morrell is going to be able to sustain that for 12 rounds.”
It would be a mistake for Benavides to try to go to Morel’s body as it will leave his head open for punches. He could be knocked out like Senna Agbeko and Yamaguchi Falcao. Those guys tried to attack Morrell’s body and were quickly knocked out. Benavidez will be a sitting duck if he lowers his hands to target Morel’s midsection.
“Yeah, but I could be wrong, but I think David Benavides is going to stop him,” Lonnie B said. “David has one of those styles. When you look at him, you’re like, ‘Okay,’ but when you get in there with him, it’s a lot harder than I thought.
Benavidez is no knockout, and definitely not at 175. The guys he knocked out at 168 were small and old, like Demetrius Andrade, Roamer Alexis Angulo, David Lemieux and Anthony Dirrell. All those guys were smaller than Benavidez and 35 years old.
“I thought he was going to be there for this shot, but he wasn’t.” His hands are up, he takes a good hit and comes back. His work rate is high. You have to be in top form to keep up with him. It will be a good fight, but I’m leaning more towards David Benavidez,” said Lonnie B.
Benavidez will have trouble using his loud punches against Morel because he moves and chooses when he wants to fight his opponent. His slow feet will make it difficult for him to get to Morel and get his volume down. Unfortunately, he moves like Frankenstein’s monster and can only hit calm fighters.
