Benavidez Sr. forget son’s age, still predicts victory

Coach Jose Benavidez Sr. said his “20 year old” son, WBC interim light heavyweight champion David ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez, will beat David Morrell on February 1st and then face the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch fight.

20 or 28?

I’m not sure where Benavidez Sr. This bit is not about David being “20 years old”, because he is 28 and has many kilometers on its odometer.

I would say Benavidez is closer to 38. He’s been a pro since 2013 and is already starting to fall apart physically, with multiple injuries everywhere. Even if he was 20, he would be up against it and fight Cuban Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) in the main event in 23 days on PBC on Prime Video PPV.

This will be a tough fight for Benavidez, especially as he is starting to break down physically from a long career with many wars. He’s also had a lot of gym wars because that’s his style.

Jose Sr. also says that Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) could move up to cruiserweight to face the winner of the unification fight between IBF champion Jai Opetaia and WBA and WBO champion Gilberto Zurdo’ Ramirez.

Beterbiev or Bivol Next?

“We have to look impressive to make history and go face the other monsters of the division,” Jose Benavidez Sr. said. Fight Hub TVtalking about his son, David Benavidez, who should look good against David Morrell on February 1st.

“This is the best fight we’ve ever had. We have a younger fighter. A hungry fighter and it’s going to be explosive. It’s going to be very exciting. This is a fight we need to show our talents and show the world that David (Benavidez) can box, David can punch, be aggressive, counter and cut off the ring.

“So, there are many things that the fans will see in this fight. David Benavidez is only 20 years old (correction: He is 28). The plan is to go on, and fight David Morrell, and get an opportunity with Bivol or Beterbiev and maybe even Zurdo Ramirez. That’s the plan,” Jose Sr. said.

If Benavidez loses this fight, he can forget about facing the winner of the Beterbiev vs. Fight Bivol 2 rematch or move up to cruiserweight to challenge Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez for his WBA and WBO titles. Jose Sr. is drunk on the success of his son from his days at 168, fighting smaller and older over-the-hill fighters. So, of course, he talks as if his son, Benavidez, can walk through them all and continue to do what he did at super middleweight.

The Mexican Monster’s last fight at 175 against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 should have been a wake-up call for Jose Sr., because that fight showed that he’s not the same guy at light heavyweight that he was at 168.

Cruiserweight Dreams

“We want to face the monsters of the division,” says Jose Sr. “Zurdo Ramirez just got another belt (at cruiserweight). Yesterday we saw another champion, Jai. I think they can face each other, and maybe we’ll face the winner of that. Like i said David is only 20 years old.

“We are not afraid of losing our unbeaten records, but we are not going to do that. I’m very confident that he’s going to destroy this guy and move on to bigger and better things,” Jose Benavidez Sr. said.

I hope not Jose Sr. comes unapproachable when he sees Benavidez knocked out by Morrell and sees all his plans fail. It would have happened anyway if Benavidez had fought where he should have been all along, at 175, rather than melting down to beat smaller fighters at 168.

This is typical stuff we see these days, with younger fighters fighting in weight classes they have no business competing at. They can get away with it when they are younger, but by the time they reach their late 20s or early 30s, the gout is gone. They are forced to compete in the weight classes appropriate for their size.