Many fans are beginning to believe that WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Champion David Benavidez made a mistake by choosing to fight WBA “Regular” Champion David Morrell at this early stage of his career before getting the money fight he was looking for.
Morel has the power, speed and technical skills to knock Benavidez out and send him into the mud, where he may never return. The Cuban talent is the fighter many believe is the heir to the crown at 175, and Benavidez picked the wrong guy to walk into a huge, life-changing payday.
Beterbiev Paidai
If David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) loses this fight to Morel, he can say goodbye to $10 million+ payout he can fight undisputed light heavyweight champion Arturo Beterby in 2025. That mega-money fight would go to Morel, who would have the last laugh. Benavidez will have to get back on top, and there’s no guarantee he can.
Next time he will have to beat a young top contender to win the interim title at 175. It wouldn’t be the easy situation he had this time, where Benavidez was fighting the 37-year-old Oleksandr Gvozdik for the WBC Interim Belt to position himself in pole position in a fight for the Undisputed Championship against the winner of Beterbiev vs. Dmitri Bivol on the 2nd.
The World Boxing Council received a lot of criticism for sanctioning a fight between Benavidez and Gvozdik for their interim title at 175. This was Benavidez’s first fight at light heavyweight, and he was fighting a man who had only recently come out of a four-year retirement.
In fairness, Benavidez should have worked his way into a position to challenge for the WBC interim 175-pound title, and his opponent should have been one of the top contenders, such as Joshua Buatsi.
Yesterday’s fight at media training, where Morel came close to hitting Benavidez with his VBA belt, is drawing attention. It was a sign of what’s in store for him when he takes on Morello and is knocked out in their fight on February 1st, live on PBC at Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
A 50-50 fight
This is by far the best fighter Benavidez has fought in his 11-year career, and it’s the only one where he faces someone with a 50-50 shot at victory. So far, Benavidez has been giving opponents opportunities with safe wins where he’s not worried about losing.
From day one, he had things going in his favor, fighting at a weight class below his gigantic lightweight frame and fighting weak, middle-of-the-road opposition.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) had no need to take this risky fight against Cuban talent Morel (11-0, 9 KOs), who is better than him in every department. The ‘Mexican Monster’ would probably still have been chosen to fight the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitri Bivola 2 rematch without this risky fight against Morel.
The bravado that led to Benavidez’s decision to gamble came from his victories over smaller, older, hapless fighters at 168 years old. His super middleweight wins