David Benavidez could face WBA “regular” lightweight champion David Morrell next January in a fight that would put the winner in position to fight for the undisputed championship at 175 lbs.
Salvador Rodriguez reports interest in making the Benavidez vs. Morrell fight in January. That match-up would excite fans to see these two goliaths meet, with the winner challenging whoever emerges as the undisputed champion in the October 12 fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
The bad news is that Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis will miss out on using Benavidez to help sell his December 14 card in Houston. Tank is defending against super featherweight Lamont Roach, and the fans are not very interested in that fight.
Not having Benavidez on the December 14th card to draw PPV buys will be bad for Tank and PBC because it is important to create interest from fans. They are not interested in paying $75 to watch Tank Davis destroy light puncher Lamont Roach. It’s a stupid idea for Tank to fight Roach instead of one of the talented lightweights.
Benavidez-Morrell is a big enough fight to headline its own card, so it wouldn’t be lost for Tank’s December 14th event. Their fight will herald Tank’s match against Roach.
Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) recently moved up to 175 and defeated Radivoje Kalajdzic by a wide twelve-round unanimous decision to capture the WBA “regular” title on August 3 on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov in a Riyadh. Season card in Los Angeles.
Cuban Morrell’s performance was not one of his best, as he was unable to put Kalajdzic away despite hurting him several times with big shots. What was missing was the sustained shafts that Morrell would have needed to get the KO. If he had, he would have knocked Kalajdzic out in the third, as he was very stunned after eating a big left hand.
“They tell me that there is a lot of interest on the part of David Benavidez and David Morrell to face each other next January. In this way, on December 14, in Houston, there would be Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach, and Alberto Puello and Sandor Martin will join them,” said Salvador Rodriguez on X.
Morrell could ruin Benavidez’s dreams of getting a fight against Canelo Alvarez if he is victorious against him. It’s a fight Benavidez, 27, has been chasing for five years, but has come up empty due to his weak resume and lack of name recognition with casual boxing fans in the United States.
While hardcore fans know Benavidez well, casuals don’t, and he’s not a PPV draw. So, he was on Tank’s undercard last June, and could be this time if it weren’t for the potential Morrell fight.
