Coach Kenny Ellis thinks David Benavidez will “overpower” David Morrell with volume and break him down in the later rounds. Ellis believes Benavidez will become more formidable as the rounds go on.
Interim WBC lightweight champion Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and WBA “regular” champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) meet in 15 days on PBC on Prime Video PPV on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ellis predicts that Benavidez won’t take as long to figure out Morrell as Caleb Plant because he’s a better boxer. Plant looked too small in the ring compared to the much bigger, lighter, heavyweight Benavidez, and he didn’t have the power to bring him back.
Morrell’s power
“As long as Morrell’s belt didn’t hit Benavidez. Those belts are extremely heavy and can cause an extreme cut if they hit you right, and that would have postponed the whole damn fight,” said trainer Kenny Ellis to MillCity BoxingSpeaking of David Morrell throwing his WBA “regular” lightweight belt at David Benavidez after being ripped from him during their face-off at the media training in Miami on December 17th.
“In that fight, David Morrell has one-punch knockout power where he can catch, and he can catch Benavidez. I just think ‘The Mexican Monster’ is going to top him. He’s going to break him because the Mexican Monster it gets stronger and stronger as the rounds go by.
“He’s got a big punch himself, but I can’t see Morrell boxing him because he won’t have that space to settle in. He won’t have that break between punches to get it going, because once the Mexican Monster starts. It will make you uncomfortable. It won’t let you put anything,” Ellis said.
Benavidez shoved Morrell at the media training, because he threw his belt. It wasn’t like Morrell threw his belt around for no reason. He did it because Benavidez pushed him hard when he refused to shake his hand.
Morrell can box, but he will be forced to go to war with Benavidez because he will chase him around the ring. That could work in Morrell’s favor because he likes to move and then stop to throw hard punches against his oncoming opponents. He catches them as they advance. If he hits Benavidez with a hard shot, he could knock him out.
“It’s a possibility,” Ellis said when asked if Morrell could hit Benavidez so hard that his punch volume isn’t as high as usual because he’ll be afraid of being hit by the Cuban. “Anything can happen, but I got caught with the ‘Mexican Monster’.”
It is doubtful that Benavidez will change his normal approach of burying his opponents with activity if Morrell hits him hard. If he focuses on throwing at the head of “The Mexican Monster”, it will not work because he has excellent punch resistance. However, I’ve never seen Benavidez get hit hard by a fighter with elite power.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk had great power, but he didn’t throw enough hard punches. He was mostly pushing his shots, trying not to tire, and focusing on boxing. That style allowed Benavidez to carry a huge lead through eight rounds. It was too late when Gvozdyk finally made it into the championship rounds, and he needed a KO. He is the only real puncher Benavidez has fought other than David Lemieux, who was old and over the hill when they fought.
“I like Morrell, though. I think (Caleb) Plant is a better boxer than Morrell. I don’t think Benavidez is going to take that long to understand, and support, and do what he does. At the same time, Morrell has the power of a fist that can change things and slow things down. But you rock me with “The Mexican Monster,” Ellis said.
Caleb Plant tried to fight Benavidez on the inside, and took a lot of punishment in the second half of the fight. In the beginning, Caleb did well, and it got the best of him in the fifth. Morrell is not going to fight Benavidez on the inside, but if he does, he showed in his fight against Hot Rod that he has formidable power on the inside.
