WBA “regular” lightweight champion David Morrell and WBC 175lb interim champion David Benavidez will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, November 19, for their kickoff press conference to begin promoting their February 1 bout .
Morrell will give Benavidez a piece of his lip, letting him know what he thinks of the “Mexican Monster” for being shunned all these years. The Cuban talent has been frustrated with Benavidez slamming him, calling him a “coward” for choosing not to fight until now.
Many believe that Benavidez finally gave up simply because Morrell didn’t look that hot in his debut at 175 against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3rd.
Former WBC super middleweight champion Benavidez is trying to reinvent himself at 175 after moving up the 168 lb division. He should have moved up to lightweight five years ago, but he waited, trying to get into a title fight against Canelo Alvarez.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) are seen as the two best fighters at 175, outside of the undisputed champion. Artur Beterbiev and former WBA title holder Dmitri Bivol. Whoever comes out victorious in the Benavidez vs. Morrell fight could fight one of those two in the first half of 2025.
Morrell-Benavidez meets on Tuesday at the NOVO in LA Live at 1:00pm PT (9:00pm UK). Both titles on PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In the co-feature on the card, WBC featherweight world champion Brandon Figueroa fights Stephen Fulton in a rematch. It’s a fight that could steal the show from the main event.
Those two fought on November 27, 2021, with Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) defeating Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) by a 12-round majority decision. Fulton neutralized Figueroa’s power by outboxing.
Since that fight, Fulton’s chin has been dented by Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue, losing to him by KO in the eighth round last year on July 25. In Fulton’s last match, he was hurt by Carlos Castro, but managed to survive and win a 10-round split decision.
Fulton hasn’t looked like the same fighter he once was before Inoue, and one wonders if this is a permanent vulnerability for him. If Fulton can no longer take a hard hit with crumbling, he will not do well against Figueroa, who will be on him non-stop.
Other undercard fights
Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz vs. Angel Fierro
Jesus Ramos Jr. vs. Jason Rosario
