Coach Jose Benavides Sr. is pleased that David Morrell argued with his son, David Benavides, today during their media workout in Miami. Morel (11-0, 9 KOs) didn’t want to shake Benavidez’s hand during their fight, which angered him enough to shove the Cuban.
(Credit: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
Jose Jr. has gotten the better of Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) due to the grappling incident, and vows to knock out WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion Morrell in their February 1 fight at PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Morrell may be too good for Benavidez and could knock him out if he can land as often as his last opponent, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, did in their June 15 fight. Gvozdik landed 223 punches on Benavidez. He won’t be upright if he lets Morrell land that many punches. Morrell is arguably the biggest puncher in the 175-pound division, and he destroys the fighters standing in front of him trying to hit him.
The only reason Morel didn’t stop his last opponent, ‘Hot Rod’ Radivoj Kalajdzic, on August 3 was because he was on the move all night, making it difficult for him to land more than one punch at a time.
Trainer Talk
“This is what you expect when you get two young fighters, strong and hungry. That’s what we expect,” Jose Benavides Sr. said Fight Hub TVreacting to the altercation between David Benavidez and David Morrell during today’s media training session in Miami.
“I like what David Morrell says. He says he’s fighting Robocop. Keep thinking that because you will see a tornado on fight day. You’re going to screw yourself. That is what will happen. He says David (Benavidez) hasn’t fought anybody. Who the fuck were you fighting?
“There are levels to this. David is on another level. David (Benavidez) was trying to shake hands. He was trying to be polite, but (Morell) was angry because he was nervous. That’s what’s happening. He doesn’t know what to do at this point.
“He has never been at this level. I hope he comes focused because on the day of the fight David (Benavidez) will have all the people behind him, and he will feel it. So I hope he (Morell) gets it right. He’s never been in a fight like this.”
Cuban Connection
Benavidez Jr. is right that Morel has never fought at this level professionally. However, in the amateurs, he fought against the two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist medal winner Julio Cesar La Cruzwho is better than anyone Benavidez has fought in his pro career—even better than Benavidez. Morel has more than enough experience to beat Benavidez. Morel also fought the outstanding Cuban Olsleis Iglesias during the amateurs, and is also a better fighter than anyone Benavidez has fought in the pros.
“David is on another level. David is of a different gender. David will knock him. I guarantee you a knockout,” Jose Sr. said, promising that his son Benavidez would knock out Morel.
Jose Sr. puts a lot of pressure on Benavidez, guaranteeing a knockout against Morel. This is a better fighter than anyone he’s faced so far, and he’s also a bigger puncher.
Benavidez claimed he couldn’t punch the way he normally does in his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his debut at 175 due to injuries affecting both hands, but he’s never been a KO artist during his career. His thing is to land a huge amount of punches to get his knockouts, but he can’t do that against Morel without getting cut.
Benavidez vs. Nail Punch Stats
– Oleksandr Gvozdik: 223 out of 675 for 33%
– David Benavides: 270 of 749 for 36%
