David Benavidez says he’ll use “everything” Cuban David Morel said about him to “fuel” his fire when they meet on February 1st in their PBC light heavyweight headliner on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas . .
WBA ‘regular’ champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) just pointed out the obvious, saying that Benavidez has been avoiding him since 2022 and that he is “fat chicken” and not the tough ‘Mexican Monster’ guy he tries to make fans think he is. Morrell sees Benavidez as a “fake” poser, and a “Chicken” at the same time.
Losing control?
“When I get in the ring, I try to do as much damage as possible because if I don’t get you, they try to get me. Well, I take it very seriously,” David Benavidez said Miami Hustle for his fight against David Morrell on February 1st.
“I feel like every fighter I go in the ring with, they’re trying to take food off my plate and I’m not going to let that happen. David Morrell was speaking for a while. He tries to say he doesn’t. He kept my name in his mouth.
“He thought I would never get the fight. So once we accepted the fight, he tried to act like he’s not talking s*** and not saying anything about me. I’m using everything he said about me to fuel the fight,” Benavidez said of Morrell.
It sounds like Benavidez will fight with anger and emotion against Morrell and put himself in a position to get caught by one of Morrell’s big power shots. That’s the problem with Benavidez. He is hot headed and has a temper problem.
That might be why he played and pushed Morrell when he refused to shake his head during their Dec. 17 media workout in Miami. He could not bear the humiliation of rejecting Morel’s attempted handshake. So, she pushed him. He’s lucky Morrell didn’t mind him with the heavy “regular” WBA belt he threw at him in response because he could have been cut to ribbons if it had stuck to his head.
Fighting in anger against a calm fighter like Morrell, whose technical skills have been honed by years of playing on Cuba’s amateur team, is wrong.
If Benavidez fights like hell against Morrell, he will get knocked out. This guy has one-punch power and has fought two-time Cuban gold medalist Julio Cesar La Cruz and Owsley Iglesias. These are fighters superior to anyone Benavidez has fought in his 12-year professional career, and arguably better than him.
“I can’t say because I haven’t been in the ring with him, but on paper, it looks like he has everything,” Benavidez said when asked if David Morrell is his toughest opponent to date. “He’s got range, he’s got speed, he’s got footwork and he’s got power. This s*** doesn’t scare me.’
No one on Benavidez’s resume matches Morrell’s size, youth, technical ability or power. This is easily the best fighter he will ever fight, and if he loses, he will prove it on February 1st. Gvozdyk was a good fighter years ago, but by the time Benavidez fought him, he was 37 years old, after a four-year layoff and a knockout loss to Artur Beterbiev. If Benavidez had fought the same version of Gvozdyk that knocked out Adonis Stevenson, he would have lost to him.
“I’ve been boxing for 25 years. I like it when I see a strong fighter that I’m going to get in the ring with because what gives me the most satisfaction is shutting the mouths of people who think I can’t win, who think they’re going to knock me out. I know what I can do and that’s why I accepted this challenge,” said Benavidez.
Boxing fans have questioned Benavidez’s ability to beat Morrell for years. They also questioned his ability to compete in a division that is natural for the cruiserweight’s massive frame, at 200 or 175.
Benavidez should have already fought Morrell years ago and moved up to light heavyweight to face Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Plus, Benavidez should have already fought at cruiserweight against Jai Opetaia because he’s had the size to fight in that weight class for years. Instead of taking any of those fights, Benavidez played it safe, melting down at 168, feasting on smaller, bigger fighters and not getting the fight he wanted against Canelo Alvarez.
Delayed decision
“That’s a challenge that not a lot of people are willing to take on at 168 and 175. So, the tougher challenges, I take them on. I want to be the most dominant fighter there is. Well, I’m going to keep doing what I have to do,” Benavidez said.
It took Benavidez three years to finally accept the challenge from Cuban Morrell, who has been calling him since 2022. Benavidez didn’t want to fight Morrell, but changed his mind after his less-than-impressive fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3 at Los Angeles.
This means that Benavidez is not as fearless as he portrays himself because if he had no fear, he would have fought Morrell in 2022 instead of choosing to fight these guys:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
– Demetrius Andrade
– Plant Caleb
– David Lemieux
2025-01-20 23:47:00
