David Benavidez will face WBA “regular” lightweight champion David Morrell on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight will be announced next week.
Fans could see Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) put in his place by Cuban talent Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs), who possesses more power, hand speed and overall ability than the “Mexican Monster” . ” or should I say “The Ecuadorian Monster”.
“On February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, there would be the duel between David Benavidez and David Morrell. They can present the event next week in California,” said Salvador Rodriguez X.
Morrell’s power could destroy Benavidez
If Benavidez loses to Morrell, he can permanently forget about the Canelo Alvarez fight because he will never be able to redeem himself in time to get a taste of a fight against the superstar before he retires.
Benavidez is a favorite for casual boxing fans who aren’t familiar with Morrell, but that’s because they haven’t seen the Cuban star in action. We could see a KO win for Morrell because Benavidez’s aggressive, some say, ‘clueless’ fighting style puts him in the line of fire with the way he places in front of his opponents to focus on throwing combinations.
The massive Benavidez got away with that fighting style when he fought at super middleweight because he was so much bigger than his opponents.
Yet when he moved up to 175 last summer for his debut in the weight class against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, he found out just how hard life would be for him. Gvozdyk was hitting Benavidez with a lot of hard punches, dominating the second half.
Benavidez was full of excuses after the fight, trying to explain his performance, but the fans saw the truth. He’s not the same fighter without the size advantage he used to have at 168.
No word yet on who will be on the undercard, but it may not matter because there is enough fan interest in the Benavidez vs. Morrell fight for the event to do well without a massive card.
Benavidez needs to raise his game
The last fight for Benavidez against Gvozdyk showed that he is not the same fighter at 175 that he was at 168, and he does not have the power. His upper body is lean and thin. Benavidez can’t generate power like the big hitters in the lightweight division.
The best power drills at 175
- David Morrell: The King
- Artur Beterbiev
- Joshua Butter
- Anthony Yarde
The Benavidez-Morrell fight was scheduled for January 25th, but was moved up a week later, which isn’t a big deal. Whoever emerges as the winner could challenge for the WBC title at some point after undisputed lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev takes on Dmitry Bivol in a rematch.
