Interim WBC lightweight champion David Benavidez says he has taken the fight against WBA “regular” champion David Morrell Jr. because he wanted to show the fans that he is not “afraid” of him for his 12-rounder on February 1st.
It was pretty obvious that Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) was hesitant to fight the former Cuban amateur star Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) because he had been calling for two solid years. He didn’t want to fight.
If Benavidez had fought A-level fighters during those two years, no one would have doubted his courage. However, he was facing creampuffs like David Lemieux, Kyrone David, Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade.
A fight born of fear
Benavidez choosing to fight instead of Morrell made it obvious that he was afraid of the Cuban fighter. That’s why he’s so upset now, because he knows he didn’t want to be part of the fight, and he hates that the fans recognize his fear.
“The reason I took this fight is because Morrell talked a lot, saying that I’m afraid. This is my way of showing that it doesn’t matter who it is; Sooner or later, I will put them in the ring. I told people that , and we’re here. On February 1st, it’s going to be a great fight. I’m excited to add this WBA title to my belt collection,” said David Benavidez to Fight Hub TVtalking about his match against David Morrell in 2025.
Benavidez took this fight against Morrell because it was the biggest payday he could get and because he needed to put himself in a position to fight the winner of the rematch between undisputed lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry buffalo
Benavidez and the WBC have been criticized for being given an immediate shot at fighting in a 175-lb title eliminator in his first fight at lightweight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15.
Many fans felt that Benavidez should have earned a mandatory spot by beating relevant top contenders such as Joshua Buatsi, Anthony Yarde and Willy Hutchinson before being installed as the WBC 175-lb mandatory title champion Artur Beterbiev. Taking the Morrell fight will give Benavidez a chance to show he values a world title fight.
“Prove all the people wrong. All the people thought he was going to beat me, proving them wrong and solidifying as the most dangerous fighter in my weight class (175) today,” Benavidez continued.
This fight is likely to end badly for Benavidez, showing fans that his past success at 168 was due to him using weight manipulation to compete in a division far below his size. He was a modern Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. For those who don’t remember.
Chavez Jr. is a man who found success earlier in his career when he competed at middleweight and would look like a lightweight after rehydration. Once he could no longer make 160, his career took off, fighting opposition his own size at 168 and 175. Benavidez went in the same direction. We already saw that in Benavidez’s debut at 175 against a washed-up 37-year-old Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15th.
Can Benavidez handle Morrell’s power?
“It’s a great fight, but I have a better ability to think. I have more speed, more power, and more experience,” said Benavidez, qualifying himself above Morrell in these areas. “I feel like this is going to be a great fight to show my talent, my skills and prove that I’m the baddest man at 175.”
Benavidez is wrong. Not faster and definitely NOT more powerful than Morrell. There is a big difference between them in both areas. Morrell has superior hand speed to Benavidez and possesses one punch power.
Even the undisputed lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev does not have the same punching power as Morrell. The Cuban is the #1 power puncher in the 175-lb division. Benavidez is not in the top 10 in the power department.
Biggest punchers at 175:
- David Morrell
- Artur Beterbiev
- Joshua Butter
- Anthony Yarde
- Callum Smith
- Oleksandr Gvozdyk
- Radivoje Kalajdzic
- Dmitri Bivol
- Jean Pascal
- And Azeez
“I want to be the most dominant champion in this weight class, and the only way to show that is by beating other dominant fighters. I feel that he has been a little exposed, but he asked for this fight again and again,” said Benavidez on Morrell’s last fight against the former world title challenger. Radivoje Kalajdzic the 3rd of August.
It’s not surprising that Benavidez is unwilling to praise Morrell for his win over Kalajdzic, as he admits his opponent outplayed him compared to his very poor debut at 175.
Morrell looked much better against Kalajdzic than Benavidez did in his debut at 175 against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, running out of gas after six rounds and taking massive punishment midway through the fight. Many fans thought the fight should have been a draw because Gvozdyk had dominated the last six rounds. In Morrell’s case, he seemed to win all 12 rounds against Kalajdzic.
“I feel like this fight will be my best fight to date, but I’m still getting better,” Benavidez said.
The reality is that Benavidez is not getting better judging by his last performance against Gvozdyk on June 15th. She was exposed in that struggle to be a weight bullythat, once he finally beat someone his size, he was an average fighter, no better than any of the top 15 heavyweight contenders.
