David Benavidez is already planning his strategy to defeat the winner of the February 22nd rematch between undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) says he will use a different game plan for each of them and will box Beterbiev (21-0, 21 KOs) and apply pressure to Bivol.
Morrell Then Glory
It is still too early for Benavidez to think about facing the winner of that fight as he has yet to defeat WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell on February 1st. It’s a 50-50 fight in most people’s minds, but not in Benavidez’s.
He is extremely confident that he will have no problems beating Morrell, so he finally agrees to the fight after watching the Cuban fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3rd.
Few people give Benavidez any chance of beating Bivol or Beterbiev, but it’s no surprise that he believes he can beat them. This is his personality. Like many carefully tailored fighters, Benavidez thinks he can beat anyone, which could be his downfall when he goes up against Morrell.
His matchups at PBC kept Benavidez well protected, and he fought in a division below his frame size until his last fight. It helped him.
“My main goal is to take on David Morrell and then go up and take on the next one,” David Benavidez said. Sean Zittel about his immediate goal for February 1st. I think we were #1 (with the WBC) in the spot to fight the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol. So, if that’s what it is, I’m 100% up for it too.
“With these big fights I am able to build my brand more and more. It’s kind of like Canelo’s career. He went up and beat bigger (named) fighters. If I don’t get that Canelo fight, I really don’t care. I am really happy with my career and happy with the opportunities I get. Now, that just proves that I’m the best in the world, no matter what weight class.
“I just feel bad for the people because the people are missing out on an incredible fight,” Benavidez said, still talking about the Canelo fight. “That’s what we’re here for, to give the people good fights.”
Benavidez should have forgotten about Canelo years ago because he made it clear to everyone that he would never get the opportunity. If Benavidez had given up long ago, he could have moved up to light heavyweight or cruiserweight and possibly won a world title by now.
Box Beterbiev, Print Bivol
“They are the iron champions in the weight class,” Benavidez said of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitri Bivol. “Beterbiev is the strongest coming in. He’s like a tank trying to knock you out, but there’s room for him to be boxed out. Honestly, I thought Bivol beat him. I thought Bivol beat him and I thought Bivol beat him convincingly. That’s how you can beat that fighter.”
Benavidez is not a professional judge, so his opinion on Bivol earning the win over Beterbiev in their October 12th clash is meaningless. However, he said before their fight that he thought Bivol was going to win, so he already had a bias. Beterbiev won under pressure, and the judges had already made their call.
Bivol is the best boxer in the 175-lb division, but he couldn’t outbox Beterbiev. If Bivol couldn’t do it, neither will a volume puncher like Benavidez. He’s not a great boxer, and he’s not going to be able to change the way he fights after 11 years in the pro game. Benavidez is the finished product. If he does get a fight against Beterbiev, he will use the same high-output style he always has, and it will be a disaster for him. He would still be a Callum Smith, but without the power.
“With Bivol, you have to pressure him more and throw a lot more combinations,” Benavidez said. “You can’t just throw left hooks and right hooks. You have to be really intelligent with your combos. So, both of them, you have to fight in two different ways, but whoever we fight, we have to be 100% ready. I will definitely be ready, and it will be a great fight with both of those guys.”
Benavidez has sparred with Bivol before, and is rumored to have gotten the better of him. However, if that were true, it would be sparring, not a fight. Bivol would be a problem for Benavidez in a real fight, where he wouldn’t be training like he was during the sparring sessions.
Why Morrell now?
“That’s why I took this fight (David Morrell), no problem, because when I was waiting for it (to fight the Beterbiev vs. Bivol winner), I thought because I was the #1 contender (with WBC) because that fight ended the As it did, you have to give it the respect it deserves a rematch,” Benavidez said.
It wasn’t until David Morrell looked less than impressive in his last fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3rd that Benavidez wanted to fight him. Before that fight, Benavidez and his father, Jose Benavidez Sr., wanted nothing to do with Morrell. They probably saw his weaknesses and decided: “I think he is perfect.”
“So, they gave me some other names, and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m not interested in any of those fights. I want the big fights, and if we can’t get anybody big, we’re going to make a big fight out of a person who has a belt who talks a lot of s***,’ ” Benavidez said about why he chose to fight Morrell.
The timing of Benavidez’s decision to fight Morrell is suspect. It comes immediately after his first unimpressive performance in his five-year career. Benavidez didn’t raise his hand to fight Morrell when he destroyed Sena Agbeko or Yamaguchi Falcao.
“So, that’s kind of the route we took. This is a fight that people have wanted to watch for a long time. So, I feel this is the best time to make the fight between me and Morrell happen. It is only in my mentality that I am ready to fight the best. I don’t care who it is. I’m 100% ready to fight whoever it is, no,” Benavidez said.
