David Benavidez says his experience will be too much for WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell, and he expects to knock him out in the late rounds in their February 1 headliner.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) believes he has the edge against Morel (11-0, 9 KOs) due to the superior opposition he has faced in many “50-50 fights” during his 11-year pro career. He doesn’t mention who he fought during his career in fights that were considered even money, but that’s what he claims.
Morel has a slight advantage in youth, strength, technical skills and mobility over Benavidez. It also has less wear and tear. Benavidez gets hit a lot because he is a hard puncher who gets in front of his opponents and overwhelms them with punches.
He got away with that style because he melted down to compete at 168 against smaller and older fighters. Now that Benavidez is fighting where he should have been all along, at 175, he’s getting hit hard and will have to change his style to avoid the knockout.
Benavidez vs. Morel will headline the PBC Prime Video PPV on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“I want to prove that I am the best in the world, and the only one there besides Bivol and Beterbiev is David Morrell.” That was the best fight I could see. It’s not the easiest fight. He is probably the hardest next to Beterbiev and Bivol,” said David Benavidez Tobin.
“He had a few words for me, saying I was running away from him.” I had to take his temperature and tell him I’d be here all night. “I’m not going to run away from anybody, and by the time this fight is over, he’ll know who the best David is,” Benavidez said of Morrell.
“Canelo kind of blocked my chance at greatness. I think now everyone wants to protect their O’s. To me, if you want to get money right, you have to go through the hardest fights. You have to show people what you’re made of. That’s what I’m doing with this fight.”
Canelo was doing the same thing as Benavidez with Morelo. He did not favor Benavidez. If he was fighting the best opposition to build his fan base, Canelo would fight him. The guys that Canelo fights are the ones with fans, who bring something to the table. We saw how Benavidez couldn’t sell when he fought on PPV against Demetrius Andrade on a loaded card, and the event was poor.
“Every fight I’ve had, they’ve been tough, competitive fights where it looks like it’s 50-50. But I go in and do my thing and show why I’m the best in the world,” Benavidez said.
Benavidez’s fights were NOT 50-50 during his 11-year career. He’s always been the favorite in his fights, and that’s the problem. So far, he’s taken a risk in the clash against Morel, and he’s only taking it because he has to.
Benavides’ best wins:
– Dimitrije Andrade: 35
– Caleb Plant
– Aleksandar Gvozdik: 37
– Anthony Dirrell: 38
– Ronald Gavril
“That’s the difference between me and him.” He fought against people who were not very good. That’s why he ends them early,” Benavides said of Morel. I fought people who were experienced, veterans, and I finished them late.
Morel’s recent opponent, Radivoje Kalajdzic, is better than anyone Benavidez has fought. Gvozdik was a good fighter before he retired in 2019, but was out for four years before returning in 2023. This was not the best version of Gvozdik that Benavidez fought.
Gvozdyk defeated three second-ranked fighters before facing Benavidez on May 15 and going the distance with him over 12 rounds in what appeared to be a draw. It was a poor performance from Benavidez, who didn’t look nearly as good as Artur Beterbiev did against Gvozdyk on October 18, 2019.
“It will be my experience against him to come in and try to get a quick knockout. I am 100% focused. “I know this fight will not be easy, but it will probably end in the later rounds,” said Benavidez about the match against Morel.