David Benavidez says his experience will be too much for ‘regular’ WBA light heavyweight champion David Morrell, and he expects to knock him out in the next rounds in their main event on February 1.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) believes he has the ability to face Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) because of the superior opposition he has faced during his 11 years as a pro in many “50-50” fights. He doesn’t care who he fights in the fights that were considered money, but that’s what he says.
Morrell has a slight advantage in youth, strength, technical ability, and mobility over Benavidez. He also slows down aging. Benavidez gets hit a lot because he is a volume shooter who sends high in front of his players and beats them with shots.
He did not succeed in that style because he melted down and competed in 168 against a number of young and old. Now that Benavidez is fighting where he should have been all along, at 175, he’s getting hit hard, and he’ll have to change his style to avoid getting fired.
Benavidez vs. Morrell will headline the PBC on Prime Video PPV on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“I want to show that I am the best in the world, and the only one who is there besides Bivol and Beterbiev is David Morrell. That was the best fight I saw. It is not an easy battle. It’s probably more difficult without Beterbiev and Bivol,” said David Benavidez talking to Tobin.
“He spoke a few words to me, saying that I was running away from him. I had to check her temperature and let her know I’d be here all night. “I will not run for anybody, and when this fight is over, he will know who is the best David,” said Benavidez about Morrell.
“Canelo had a way of shutting down my opportunity to achieve greatness. I think now everyone is all about protecting their iO. For me, if you want to earn money properly, you have to face the hardest battles. 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 and Morrell. He didn’t like Benavidez. If he was fighting the best opponents to build his fan base, Canelo would fight him. The guys who fight Canelo are the ones who have 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 did bad numbers.
“All the fights I’ve fought have been tough, competitive 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,” said Benavidez.
Benavidez’s fights NEVER had to be 50-50 matches during his 11 year career. He was always the favorite in his fights, that’s the problem. He has risked himself so far in his conflict with Morrell, and he only takes that because he has to.
Benavidez’s Best Wins:
– Demetrius Andrade: 35
– Caleb Plant
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk: 37
– Anthony Dirrell: 38
– Ronald Gavril
“That’s the difference between me and him. He fought with people who were not really good. That’s why he finishes them early,” said Benavidez about Morrell. “I have fought with experienced people, veterans, and I finished them too late.”
Morrell’s latest opponent, Radivoje Kalajdzic, is better than anyone Benavidez has ever fought. Gvozdyk was a good fighter before retiring in 2019, but was out of action for four years before returning in 2023. This was not the main version of Gvozdyk that Benavidez fought.
Gvozdyk had won three second division fights before facing Benavidez on May 15 and went the distance of 12 rounds with him in what appeared to be a close fight. That was a poor performance by Benavidez, who did not look as good as Artur Beterbiev did in his fight with Gvozdyk on October 18, 2019.
“It will be my experience if I face him and he comes in and tries to hit the finish line to put him down. I’m 100% focused. I know this fight will not be easy, but it will probably end in the next rounds,” said Benavidez about his match with Morrell.
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