WBA ‘ordinary’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell Jr. and WBC interim belt holder David Benavidez will meet next Tuesday, November 19, during a kickoff conference to discuss their February 1 fight on PBC Prime Video PPV.
The Morrell-Benavidez press conference next Tuesday will be held in Los Angeles at The NOVO at LA Live. Interestingly, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is given top billing ahead of Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs), despite only holding an interim title.
Morrell should have his name ahead of Benavidez on the posters for the fight. If the Cuban knockout artist beats Morrell Benavidez, he will have his name first if there is a rematch, which is likely to happen. Managing Benavidez at Premier Boxing Champions is sure to stage a second fight to give ‘The Mexican Monster’ a chance to redeem himself.
Undercard
Brandon Figueroa Jr. vs. Stephen Fulton
Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz vs. Angel Fierro
Jesus Ramos Jr. vs. Jason Rosario
Figueroa vs. Fulton 2 Rematch
In the co-feature on the February 1st card, WBC featherweight champion Brandon Figueroa Jr. (25-1-1, 19 KOs) will defend against former WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) in a rematch of their fight three years ago on November 27, 2021. Fulton outboxed Figueroa and won a 12-round majority decision.
Fulton’s career has not gone well since his victory, losing to Naoya Inoue by eighth-round TKO last year on July 25, 2023. The fight was a sheer mismatch as Inoue took advantage of Fulton’s weak power to break him down before finishing him in the eighth round.
Figueroa, 27, is just coming into his prime and will follow Inoue’s blueprint to the letter to blow holes in Fulton and land power shots until he folds. This could be an easy knockout. ‘Cool By Steph’ Fulton isn’t the same fighter at featherweight that he was at 122, and he doesn’t have the power to be a factor in this division.
Fulton’s chin looked like Swiss cheese in his last fight against non-puncher Carlos Castro on Sept. 14, falling in the fifth and reeling several times. The 30-year-old Fulton ended up winning a narrow 10-round majority decision against an exhausted Castro. Had the Mexican fighter not faded, he would have knocked Fulton out as he hurt him with his shots throughout the first six rounds.
Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz vs. Angel Fierro
On February 1st, Benavidez Vs. Morrell card, light welterweight Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs) also fights Angel Fierro (22-2-2, 17 KOs). Both guys are coming off losses and need a win to stay in contention.
Pitbull Cruz lost to Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela via a 12-round split decision on August 3rd in Los Angeles. Fierro lost to Alfredo Santiago via a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision on June 15 in Manati, Puerto Rico.
