Trainer Greg Hackett says David Benavidez will use his experience and body punching to defeat David Morrell on February 1st. Hackett sees this as a competitive fight for the first five rounds, with Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) looking good, but Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) will take the fight back and wear him down.
Hackett shares the opinion of many people that Benavidez has too much experience in the pros for the 26-year-old Morrell to handle.
Although Morrell has fought many times in the amateurs against better fighters than Benavidez has faced in the pros, he has not had the experience of fighting longer. Only three of Morrell’s games have reached the 12th round in his five-year career.
Benavidez-Morrell will meet in 38 days at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be shown live on PBC on Prime Video PPV. Morrell will defend his WBA “regular” lightweight title in his second contest at 175. Benavidez will have his WBC interim belt on the line.
Benavidez’s aggressive style
“He tried to hit me with his belt. It was crazy,” said Greg Hackett YSM Sports Media about how David Morrell tried to hit David Benavidez with his WBA belt after he pushed him at his media training.
“They know the other is a threat, and there’s a lot riding on it. They both have something to prove because they’re in a new weight class. Some like Morrell, and some like Benavidez. You always know that this is a high intensity fight because your trainers are back in the field.
“Look for a real fire. Look for Morrell to try all his tricks, and look for Benavidez to dig deep and go into that body and really try to tear him apart. I think it’s a little too early for Morrell. I’ve been picking Benavidez all day. . I think he’s the most experienced, baddest, most tested fighter,” Hackett said.
It won’t be easy for Benavidez to target Morrell’s body because he moves and has a wicked left hand, making it risky for the Mexican Monster. He will try to go to the body, but he may regret it later if he is cut by Morrell.
Coach predicts “Dark Beating”
“Morrell is going to look good in the first five. Maybe the first three before I see him take a turn, but I say the first five, he (Morrell) is going to look good. Then Benavidez is going to start looking more and more , scary aspect. It’s going to get dark. It’s going to be one of those dark beats,” Hackett said.
Morrell was at his best in the early rounds of his Aug. 3 fight against “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic, but seemed to slow down in the second half. However, Morrell still threw with power even in the championship rounds. Kalajdzic held on a lot, which saved him from taking a lot of heavy shots down the stretch.
Benavidez doesn’t hold back, and his defense is his offense. Morrell can do a lot of damage against this type of fighter, and could even take him out if Benavidez is careless.
