WBC ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell has confirmed on social media that he is in talks to face WBC interim champion David Benavidez.
If the two undefeated rookie 175-pounders, Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) and Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs), agree to a deal, the clash could happen in December. That will put the winner in a position to fight for the undisputed championship in 2025 against the winner of the October 12 bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Morrell, 26, is a smaller, stronger, and more talented fighter than Benavidez, but he doesn’t have the experience that he has. If the Cuban Morrell adjusts his game to improve his low level, Benavidez could lose this fight by knockout. The difference in power between Morrell and Benavidez is huge. I guess Benavidez didn’t eat his Wheaties growing up.
Although Morrell only has 11 fights as a professional, he has more experience as an amateur in Cuba, which puts him ahead of Benavidez. He’s fought some of the best fighters Benavidez has fought in the pros, notably older guys like Demetrius Andrade and Anthony Dirrell.
Morrell is a much better puncher than he is and has a style that suits the 175-lb division. The 27-year-old Benavidez is a fish out of water at light heavyweight and is no longer the formidable fighter he was at 168, when he outsized his younger self.
If Benavidez loses to Morrell, it will confirm in the minds of the fans that he was always just a man weight is a bully from day one. He would be seen as another example of a small fighter playing the game by fighting in a weight class below his size.
Benavidez has been a pro for a long time, and has beaten Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Demetrius Andrade, Caleb Plant, David Lemieux, and Anthony Dirrell.
Benavidez’s elite offense may give Morrell problems because he throws a lot of punches in a machine gun fashion, overwhelming his opponents with shots. In Benavidez’s debut at 175 last June against Gvozdyk, he defeated him with his volume.
Gvozdyk was a great puncher and landed clean shots throughout the rounds, but a top takedown from Benavidez was enough to get the win.
Morrell hits harder than Benavidez, but he may have issues with his volume if he doesn’t improve that part of his game when they fight. That’s something Morrell lacked in his last fight as well
Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3rd on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Morrell made former Artur Beterbiev knockout victim Kalajdzic land several punches in their 12-round fight but he couldn’t pull it off because he was focusing on throwing one punch instead of firing a bunch like Benavidez could.
If Morrell had more experience and changed his game, he would have easily taken out Kalajdzic because he was quick and often into that fight.
The shots that Morrell hit him with appeared to be more difficult than the blows that the draw artist Beterbiev hit him with five years ago when they clashed in 2019. the way Morrell did.
A Morrell victory in this fight will put a big smile on Canelo Alvarez’s face, as he has been hunted by Benavidez for the past few years. Benavidez has been pushing like crazy, trying to fight him, looking primed at times when it comes to that big payday.
What would be even better is if Morrell was the one who ended up getting the fight against Canelo instead of Benavidez. Now, that would be great, and it would suggest that karma is at work. Morrell didn’t hunt Canelo the way Benavidez did.
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