Benavidez’s anger problem: Advantage Morrell?

David Benavidez says he’s going to use “everything” Cuban David Morrell said about him to “fuel” his fire when they face each other in their light heavyweight headliner on PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena on February 1 Las Vegas meet. .

WBA ‘ordinary’ champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) just pointed out the obvious, saying that Benavidez has avoided him since 2022 and that he is a “fat chicken” and not the ‘Mexican Monster’ tough guy he tries to make fans think he is. Morrell sees Benavidez as a “Fake” poser, and a “Chicken” one at that.

Losing control?

“When I get in the ring, I try to do as much damage as possible because if I don’t get you, they try to get me. So, I take it very seriously,” David Benavidez told the Miami Hustle about his fight against David Morrell on February 1st.

“I feel like every fighter I go in the ring with, they’re trying to take food off my plate, and I’m not going to let that happen. David Morrell has been speaking for some time. He tries to say he doesn’t. He kept my name in his mouth.

“He thought I was never going to take the fight. So as soon as we accepted the fight, then he tried to act like he wasn’t talking shit and not saying anything about me. I’m using everything he said about me to fuel the fight,” Benavidez said of Morrell.

It sounds like Benavidez will fight Morrell with anger and emotion and put himself in a position to get caught by one of Morrell’s big power shots. That’s the problem with Benavidez’s. He is hot headed and has a temper problem.

That may be why he stepped up and punched Morrell when he refused to shake his head during their Dec. 17 media workout in Miami. He couldn’t handle the humiliation of having his handshake attempt rejected by Morrell. So, he pushed him. He’s lucky Morrell didn’t go after him with his heavy WBA ‘ordinary’ belt which he threw at him in response, as he could have been cut to ribbons if it tagged him in the head.

Fighting furiously against a calm fighter like Morrell, who has technical skills honed by years of fitting in with the Cuban amateur team, is a mistake.

If Benavidez fights Morrell like a wild man, he’s going to get knocked out. This guy has one-push power and has competed with two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Julio Cesar La Cruz and Osley Iglesias. These are fighters better than anyone Benavidez has fought during his 12-year professional career, and arguably better than him.

“I can’t say because I haven’t been in the ring with him, but on paper it looks like he has everything,” Benavidez said when asked if David Morrell is his toughest opponent to date. “He’s got reach, he’s got speed, he’s got footwork, and he’s got power. That s*** doesn’t scare me.”

No one on Benavidez’s resume matches the size, youth, technical ability or power of Morrell. This is easily the best fighter he has fought, and if he loses, it will prove it on February 1st. Gvozdyk was a good fighter years ago, but by the time Benavidez fought him, he was 37, coming off a four-year retirement and a knockout loss to Artur Beterbiev. If Benavidez had fought the same version of Gvozdyk that knocked out Adonis Stevenson, he would have lost to him.

“I’ve been boxing for 25 years. I like it when I see a strong fighter that I’m about to get in the ring with because what gives me the most satisfaction is silencing people who think I can’t win, who think I’m going to get knocked out . I know what I can do, and that’s why I took on this challenge,” said Benavidez.

Boxing fans doubted Benavidez’s ability to beat Morrell for years. They also questioned his ability to compete in a division natural to his massive cruiserweight frame, at 200 or 175.

Benavidez should have fought Morrell years ago, moving up to light heavyweight to take on Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Plus, Benavidez should have already fought Jai Opetaia at cruiserweight because he’s had the size to compete in that weight class for years. Instead of getting any of those fights, Benavidez played it safe, melted down to 168, feasted on smaller, older fighters, and didn’t get the fight he wanted against Canelo Alvarez.

Delayed decision

“It’s a challenge that not too many people are willing to accept at 168 and 175. So, the hardest challenges, I embrace them. I want to be the most dominant fighter there is. So, I’m going to keep doing what I have to do,” Benavidez said.

It took Benavidez three years to finally accept the challenge of Cuban Morrell, who has been calling him out since 2022. Benavidez didn’t want to fight Morrell, but he changed his mind after his less than impressive fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3rd in Los Angeles.

What this means is that Benavidez is not as fearless as he portrays himself, because if he had no fear, he would be fighting Morrell in 2022 instead of choosing to fight these guys:

– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
– Demetrius Andrade
– Caleb Plant
– David Lemieux