Former two-division world champion Antonio Tarver believes David Morrell may need a knockout for him to defeat WBC interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez in eight days’ time on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
If Benavidez chases Morrell like he does all of his opponents, he could be knocked out by the Cuban talent in the first round.
Morrell has far more power and technical ability for Benavidez to fight in the primitive style he has become accustomed to from his weight bully days of overwhelming fossils at 168. Benavidez’s career has been built on poor matchups and he fights well below his big cruiserweight size .
Tarver feels that Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) has too much size and professional experience for former Cuban amateur star Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) to overcome without knocking him out. Benavidez’s output will make it difficult for Morrell to win a decision if he gets off the ground in this fight by a large margin.
Benavidez’s habit of throwing a lot of shots could be his undoing in this fight as he puts his chin on the line and gets hit a lot. He depends on his output to choke his opponent, which has worked because he’s mostly fought smaller fighters during the 11 years he’s been fighting at 168.
Morrell is a bigger puncher than the guys Benavidez has fought, and he’s going to be a knockout threat in this fight. He will have plenty of opportunities to hurt Benavidez because he is so used to fighting older, smaller fighters. He only fought one guy that big, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and was really hammered by that fighter. He was injured on the body by Gvozdyk.
Knockout required?
“I think Morrell needed one or two more tests to handle the ability, the power and the confidence that David Benavidez brings to the table,” Antonio Tarver said on his YouTube channel. TarversTake on the David Benavidez vs David Morrell fight in eight days on February 1st.
“I think David Morrell is going to have to find that shot that doesn’t just fall, but gets concussed. He needs to knock out David Benavidez. There are sometimes fighters you can make quit. I don’t think you can drop either of these fighters.
“Sometimes you’ve got to knock them out, and I feel like this is one of those types of fights where one of these guys is going to have to end it in the distance to secure the win. David Benavidez is going to have a bit of a reach and size advantage (correction: 6’1″ Morrell has a four inch reach advantage. 6’2′ Benavidez is one inch taller, and may be heavier).
It sounds like Tarver drank the Kool-Aid, and bought into the same things other Benavidez fans were saying about him. If you shut out the garbage Benavidez’s followers say about him and take a good look at his A. massive size and B. the smaller, older opposition he’s beaten, you’ll see that he’s just a typical heavyweight bully.
“I think this will be one of the more gifted fighters that Benavidez has faced,” Tarver said. “Morell comes in with a lot of talent. The experience. Guys like Caleb Plant, those types of fighters that Benavidez faced. The light heavyweight (Oleksandr Gvozdyk) he (fought) was very tough.”
You can’t give Benavidez the hype to beat Caleb Plant because Canelo Alvarez did a much better job of beating him than he did. Plant won the first five rounds against Benavidez, fighting him only on skills in close. Canelo dominated Plant and knocked him out.
You can lift Benavidez if Plant has power and if he wasn’t knocked out by Canelo before fighting him. He didn’t do a better job of beating Plant than Canelo and lost almost all of the first six rounds. He was exposed by Plant. If that’s what you’re going to gauge Benavidez and use as your reason for him beating Morrell, you’re not thinking clearly.
Body Attack Key
“He didn’t knock him out, but he could go the distance,” Morrell said of Benavidez’s fight against Gvozdyk. “If you think who can stop who, I think David Benavidez with that body attack. If he can focus on that early and have some success, it really helps him further. Morrell does not use a consistent body attack. I think most of it is him headhunting.
“When you make the transition from amateur to pro, it’s about sitting on those punches and having that body attack. Therefore, I would advise any fighter to invest in that body. If you see one of these guys go down early, look for that guy to raise his hand.
“You’ll have to take chances when you go to the body. You must be aware enough to know when you are in safe quarters. You can’t be in there with your hands down trying to rip your body, not with one of these guys. Both of these guys are great counter punchers,” Tarver said.
