A snarling David Benavidez was in a near-manic state, yelling at WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell during a split-screen interview today ahead of their February 1 fight on PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena to be booked in Las Vegas.
Code gray for Benavidez?
If it was a hospital situation, the doctors or nurses would call in code greyleading security to rush to the room to subdue the angry patient. Benavidez had the same look to him when he bumped Morrell without warning during their December 17 face-off at the media workout in Miami. Morrell responded by throwing his belt at him.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) said much the same things he’s said in previous interviews in the build-up to his February 1st fight, and for the umpteenth time has his unfounded suspicions of Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs ) rehashed ) who used PEDs in the past, and said he was going to “break his face.” It’s the same tried and tested stuff that Benavidez said with nothing new in terms of material.
The moderator, Ariel Helwani, did nothing to control the back-and-forth between the two fighters. Instead, he allowed Benavidez to talk about Morrell to keep him from talking. It was frustrating to see and showed that Helwani is new to this.
The hyped-up, seething-with-fury Benavidez spoiled things by not pausing to allow Morrell to speak. It would have helped if Helwani had been assertive and muzzled Benavidez by shutting down his ability to speak. He looked uncertain and had to try to exercise control by talking about Morrell.
What was interesting was how angry Benavidez was and how often he was took large gulps from his coffee mug. He looked nervous and angry and in a state of mind where he looked like he was ready to run amok. This is a clear sign of concern.
Benavidez showed his fear because a person is like that, it means they are scared and threatened. It is a human trait. It’s a good thing Morrell wasn’t in his presence because it might have turned into a fistfight. With Morrell being the stronger, faster, younger and more talented of the two, it could have ended badly for Benavidez.
He seems terrified of Morrell, as he should be, because this person could ruin his career and spoil the massive mega-million payday he could get to fight the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch fight. There is a lot of money on which Benavidez will lose if he is beaten by Morrell.
Morrell Unfazed
“You have no strength, man. You have nothing,” said David Morrell on the Ariel Helwani Channeltalking about David Benavidez, who talked about him on the show, and didn’t let him talk. “You can’t do that. I will teach you how to box.
“Not anymore because we’re busy with the drug testing,” said David Benavidez when asked if he thought Morrell was using PEDs. “When we did this camp, we made sure there was no shady business going on, and all fighters were tested. There’s not going to be any rogue s*** here, because we take care of that.”
“I’m clean. I don’t need it,” Morrell said.
“I’m going to screw you up. I’m going to break your mouth,” Benavidez said.
“Every time you talk the same,” Morrell said, noting that Benavidez is like a broken record, saying the same thing in every interview without coming up with new material. “You say you’re the ‘Mexican Monster.’ On February 1st I’ll kick your ass. I promise you.
“I have envisioned it a lot. I’m going to go in there and do my job, and this fight isn’t going far,” says Benavidez. “I’m going to go in there and hurt David Morrell as much as possible. More than anyone has ever hurt him and more than anyone will ever hurt him.
“He will always remember this fight, and he will never forget David Benavidez after this fight.”
“I am 100% convinced that I will win this fight. I don’t care which way I’m going to win this battle. If I knock him out or if it depends on the judges, I know I have all the conditions and the skills to come out on top on February 1st,” said Morrell.
“All the talking is done, and I know you see me in your nightmares, p****. So, I’ll see you soon,” said an angry Benavidez in his final comments.
