The light heavyweight division on February 1 will welcome the arrival of a major showdown without Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez when David Morrell meets David Benavidez in the Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena.
Although Morrell, a former super middleweight with a record of 11-0 (9 KO), has never officially used the nicknames “El Sicario” (“Dagger Man”) or “The Hitman”, But this honorary title was bestowed upon him. Alvarez’s die-hard Mexican fan base, according to his trainer Ronnie Shields.
“As Alvarez fought whoever he wanted for the past three years. By competing in many divisions My fighter is also grooming Canelo’s mandatory challenger in the WBA,” Shields explained. “In fact, Canelo’s fans started calling David the ‘Hitman’ because that’s what he did for Alvarez; Canelo doesn’t want to face his challenger!”
After claiming the secondary WBA strap in August 2020, Morrell was able to score brutal knockouts against Mario Abel Cazares and Aidos Yerbossynuly, effectively relieving him of the burden of facing these challengers. effective Whether either side is seen as a worthy opponent for Alvarez remains to be seen. Of course, that’s another story.
Shields summed up Morrell’s thoughts: “We knew we would never compete for the WBA super middleweight title as long as Canelo was their champion. So we’re excited to get the next best thing in David Benavidez at the first boxing PPV of 2025, and if we can make millions of fight fans around the world happy in the process. We are delighted to fill that role.”
For the 29-0 Benavidez (24 KO), the stakes are just as high. The Phoenix native has long sought a blockbuster fight with Alvarez. But his calls went unanswered.
Frustration simmers as Benavidez talks about the elusive pairing. “I don’t think a fight like that can happen. Which is crazy. Because that will be one of the greatest fights ever. Not only for boxing But also for the history of Mexican boxing,” Benavidez said. “I was 100 percent sure I could beat Canelo, and maybe that’s why the fight didn’t happen. Maybe he wants an easier fight. He wants fights like (Edgar) Berlanga, (Jaime) Munguia and all these other guys. I just feel bad for people because you guys missed the thrilling fights.
“This is what we do for, right? We don’t do it for people so they can fight their best. Or is it just to keep people in their pockets like Canelo has done to other fighters and say, ‘Damn, I’m not going to give you what you want to see. I will fight whoever I want.’ That was weird.”
