Demetrius Andrade questions whether WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell has long enough arms to get around David Benavidez’s guard when they meet at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on February 1st.
Benavidez’s reach
Andrade had trouble getting his shots through Benavidez’s guard due to his long arms in their fight last year and was eventually stopped in the sixth round. He was surprised by Benavidez’s sheer size, and he was too big for him.
The Cuban Morrell has a much longer reach than Benavidez, at 78″ compared to his 74”, so he shouldn’t have the same problems as Andrade. Demetrius started his professional career at 154 and moved up to 168 in 2023. He only fought once in the weight class against Demond Nicholson before facing Benavidez.
Benavidez’s reach, weight and youth seemed to give Andrade problems. He looked much heavier, like a light heavyweight or cruiserweight fighting a middleweight.
“Because he was a big, strong guy, he was able to absorb it. He weighed a lot more than me,” said Demetrius Andrade Fight Hub TV about his loss to David Benavidez on November 25, 2023.
“After that fight (Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk at 175), he said, ‘I can still make 168,’ because he felt the weight difference. He (Benavidez) couldn’t do what he can do if he’s not the weight bully.
“Now he’s in a good match against David Morrell. It’s two guys the same size. I think David Morrell is talented. I don’t know if he has the experience to actually beat David. (Morell) is a big kid. He has decent speed, but he’s a bit wild with his punches. Of course, that comes with experience.”
Benavidez didn’t look good in his debut at 175 against Oleksandr Gvozdyk last summer on June 15 and was knocked out by the stronger fighter throughout the fight. His power looked weak with the weight, and he was lucky to get the decision. If Gvozdyk was a more popular fighter, he would have gotten the win because he landed the better punches.
Can Morrell adapt?
“David (Benavidez) has long arms. Morrell is bigger than me,” Andrade said. “When you hit him (Benavidez), his arms are so long that it’s hard to hit him. You have to time your shots against him. I don’t know if Morrell has it in him.
“I’m a sharpshooter, and David was able to block a lot of my shots with his height. So, you have to set him up with some clean, running catches,” Andrade said
