The WBC has confirmed that the winner of next month’s fight between David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) will be the “mandatory challenger” for the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2.
WBC mandate
If Bivol is victorious in his rematch with undisputed lightweight champion Beterbiev, there is a possibility of a trilogy fight after that. That means the Benavidez-Morrell winner must wait until after the third Beterbiev-Bivol fight before they get a crack at all four belts.
It depends on what Turki Al-Sheikh wants to do. If he wants to see an immediate third fight between Beterbiev and Bivol, this will happen.
“Undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev will fight a rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Interim champion David Benavidez will fight David Morrell on February 1. The winner will be the division’s mandatory challenger to fight the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol, “in order WBC.
Power at 175?
“I hope it happens. I don’t think it will happen, no,” David Benavidez said at the PPV channel about his hope that he can fight Canelo Alvarez. “A lot of people ask me this question: ‘When are you going to fight?'” I don’t know.
“It’s up to Canelo. If he wants to make the fight, we can make it happen. Everyone knows it’s the biggest fight in boxing. So, I’m ready for when that time comes.
This is the same reason I took this fight (David Morrell). I was already prepared for a tough fight in my head, I think there is no better experience to do than going against these tough fighters. This will prepare me for whatever comes next.
“I want to be one of the most dangerous fighters in boxing. I want to be one of those fighters that you remember, like (Gennadiy) Golovkin and Julio Cesar Chavez. Those are the kind of fighters that I want to be. I don’t back down from anybody . I’m not afraid of anyone, and this is a way to prove it,” said Benavidez.
Benavidez will never be in the league of Gennadiy Golovkin or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr because he has no power. Morrell is more of a Golovkin level fighter than Benavidez. “The Mexican Monster” is a volume puncher, and he will not become a power guy at 175. At 28, he will not suddenly find the power he never had.
Every fighter wants to be blessed with Beterbiev-level power, but those are special people who come only occasionally. Benavidez is still a good base volume guy and can kick a good life, even though he was defeated by the big puncher Morrell on February 1st. You have to be born with the genetics for power, and Benavidez was not blessed in that department.
Underrated skills
“I feel like I have many aspects of my game that are underrated. IQ is one of them. Defense is another one of them. The third is my power. People, I don’t know what it is about them. They just think because I like to eat and I have a little fluffy off-season that, I have no power.
“Everything changes when you get in the ring with me. So, I think everything I do is underrated. I don’t think I’m a good fighter until they get in the ring with me and see ‘Oh, this guy is a problem,” Benavidez said.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t give examples of fighters who didn’t think he was good until they got in the ring with him. Benavidez’s resume is weak, and he has never fought any high-level fighters during his 12-year professional career. So when he talks about fighters saying, “This guy’s a problem,” he’s saying nothing because he’s faced B- and C-level opposition throughout his career.
Benavidez’s best wins:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk: 37 years old and recently out of retirement for 4 years
– Demetrius Andrade: 36 years old
– Caleb Plant: Post-Canelo KO loss
– Anthony Dirrell: 38 years old
– David Lemieux: Journeyman
–Roamer Alexis Angulo: Ditto
– Ronald Ellis
– Ronald Gavril
Those are Benavidez’s best wins, and there’s nobody you can say is a good enough fighter to make a big deal about him. He presents himself as elite, but who has he beaten to prove it? Benavidez waited three years to fight Morrell after he was called up in 2022, and you have to wonder why. He didn’t want to lose to the Cuban.
