Lonnie Thompson says David Benavidez has a tough fight on his hands against “regular” WBA lightweight champion David Morrell on February 1st. Thompson sees Benavidez having a tough time with former Cuban amateur talent Morrell, but he’s not sure he’ll win.
(Credit: Esther Lin and Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
Morrell’s power and technical skills give him a huge advantage over Benavidez, who can’t punch and depends on his size, bulk and aggressiveness to win.
Benavidez’s Kryptonite
Benavidez’s upper body is dry, emaciated vestigial characteristicalmost like the useless weapons of a T-Rex dinosaur. He has no strength or size in his upper body and depends on bulk to win his fights. It will be difficult for Benavidez to win with volume against Morrell because he is much stronger with his power and upper body strength.
The way he breaks things down, Morrell could win based on his speed, power, size, technical skills and athleticism. Morrell has advantages in every category except pro game experience. However, he has more time in the amateurs, fighting better opposition than the limited fighters that Benavidez has fought in the pros.
Thompson thinks Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) will be worried about what comes his way from Cuba’s Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) because he’s just as big, but he’s a bigger, slick puncher and has good feet. .
Benavidez owes most of his success to fighting under his natural weight class, draining from light heavyweight to compete at 168. If Benavidez had moved up to 175 before, his career probably would never have reached this far, and he would be one of the 175. pack, is not better than any of the other contenders.
Benavidez is not the same fighter as a lightweight, as he was in 168. He is like Superman in the presence of Kryptonite, and he has lost his power.
Thompson says he made Benavidez look good. He didn’t look so good when he finally moved up to 175 in his last fight, and he fought against 37-year-old Oleksandr Gvozdhyk on June 15th.
“It’s a tough fight. David Morrell is really, really good. I don’t know (who’s going to win the fight), because David Morrell is also great. He’s great for middleweights,” said Lonnie Thompson to FighthypeThey are talking about the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell fight on February 1st.
They are both at 175 now, meeting on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Benavidez will have his interim WBC 175 lb title on the line, and Morrell will put his WBA “regular” belt at risk. Their event will be shown live on PBC on Prime Video PPV.
Morrell’s Cuban style of boxing
“He’s big, he can punch, and he’s slick. He’s got that Cuban style that’s really slick and offensive with him,” Thompson said of Morrell. “These styles are tough for anyone to fight, even the Mexican Monster,” especially with the style that David has.
Size and careful matchmaking has allowed Benavidez to dominate for the past 11 years at 168. He hasn’t fought top competition in all those years, except for Caleb Plant, if you want to call it “cutting-edge.” It is not.
“David’s not really slick. He just uses his size to wear guys down. He takes them down. He’s so big, and you hit him, but you can’t get him right because he’s so big,” Thompson said of Benavidez. . “With David Morrell, I would really have to worry that some heat is being returned to him.”
Without Benavidez’s size advantage in his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk at 175, he looked like a below-average fighter and was lucky to win. Benavidez’s love-sick fans thought it was a dominating performance, but they saw it through rose-tinted glasses, seeing it unrealistically. He did not dominate Gvozdyk.
Indeed, he gave up in the second half and lost six consecutive rounds in real terms. The judges gave the decision to Benavidez, but this was a draw. He got the A-side treatment from the judges, but they can’t save him this time against Morrell.
Footwork and Punching Strength
“David Morrell has really good feet. So, I think that would give David some trouble, and he can punch,” Thompson said.
“When you’re a guy too small for you, you have to look like that,” Thompson said of how Benavidez dominated when he fought at super-middleweight. “He should look that way against guys too small for him.”
