Former two-division world champion Antonio Tarver believes David Morrell may need a KO to defeat interim WBC lightweight champion David Benavidez in eight days on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
If Benavidez bum-rushes Morrell like all his opponents, he could be defeated by the Cuban talent in the first round.
Morrell has much more power and technical ability for Benavidez to fight in the primitive style he was accustomed to from his days as a bully at 168. Benavidez’s career has been built on weak matchmaking and he will fight a lot under his enormous. cruiserweight size.
Tarver feels that Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) has too much size and professional experience for former Cuban amateur star Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) to overcome without a knockout. Benavidez’s production will make it difficult for Morrell to win a decision if he is landed by a wide margin in this fight.
Benavidez’s habit of throwing a lot of punches could be his downfall in this fight because he puts his chin on the line and gets hit a lot. He depends on his production to choke his opponent, which has worked because he has fought mostly smaller fighters during the 11 years he has fought at 168.
Morrell is a bigger puncher than the guys Benavidez has fought, and he will be a knockout threat in this fight. He will have many opportunities to hurt Benavidez because he is so used to fighting older and smaller fighters. He only fought one guy his size, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and he got really hammered by that fighter. He was wounded in the body by Gvozdyk.
Knockout required?
“I think Morrell needed one or two more tests to be able to handle the ability, power and confidence that David Benavidez brings to the table,” said Antonio Tarver on his YouTube channel. Tarvers Take on the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell fight in eight days on February 1st.
“I think David Morrell is going to have to find that shot that not only drops, but concusses. He has to knock out David Benavidez. There are sometimes fighters that you can make quit. I don’t think one of these fighters can quit.
“Sometimes you have to knock them out, and I feel like this is one of those types of fights where to secure the win, one of these guys is going to have to finish the distance. David Benavidez is going to have a little bit of a reach and size advantage (correction: 6 ‘1″ Morrell has a four-inch advantage. 6’2” Benavidez is an inch taller, and could be heavier).
It looks like Tarver drank the Kool-Aid, buying into the same stuff that other Benavidez fans said about him. If you shut the junk Benavidez’s followers are saying about him and look closely at his A. massive size and B. the smaller, older opposition that he had beaten, you would see that he is just a typical weight bully
“I think this is going to be one of the most talented fighters that Benavidez has faced,” Tarver said. “Morrell comes with a lot of talent. The experience. Guys like Caleb Plant, those types of fighters that Benavidez faced. The lightweight (Oleksandr Gvozdyk) that he (he fought) was very tough.
You can’t give Benavidez the hype to beat Caleb Plant because Canelo Alvarez did a much better job beating him than he did. Plant won the first five rounds against Benavidez and beat him close to the skills. Canelo dominated Plant and knocked him out.
You could hype up Benavidez if Plant had the power and if he hadn’t been defeated by Canelo before the fight. He didn’t do a better job beating Plant than Canelo and lost almost all of the first six rounds. It was exposed by Plant. If that’s what you’re going to gauge Benavidez and use as your rationale for him beating Morrell, you’re not thinking clearly.
Body attack key
“He didn’t knock him out, but he was able to go the distance,” Morrell said of Benavidez’s fight against Gvozdyk. “If you think he can stop who, I think David Benavidez with that body attack. If he can focus on that start and have some success, it really helps him go down. Morrell doesn’t employ a consistent body attack. I think that most of it is head hunting.
“When you make the transition from amateur to professional, it’s sitting on those punches and having that body attack. That’s why I would advise every fighter to invest in that body. If you see one of these guys going down first, look for that guy to have his hand raised.
“You have to take chances when you go to the body. You have to be aware enough to know when you are in safe quarters. You can’t be in there with your hands around when you try to tear the body, not with one of these guys. Both men are great counter-punchers,” Tarver said.
