David Benavidez revealed on social media today that he could face WBC ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell next. Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) initially said he was “making something big,” and when pressed, said it was a fight against Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs).
Capturing the WBA secondary belt from Morrell would give Benavidez more credibility as a challenger for the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol winner.
If Morrell prevails, Benavidez will regret taking this risky matchup for life. All the money he thought he was going to get if the WBC made Beterbiev mandatory would go up in smoke.
I could see Benavidez as an old man one day and say to himself, ‘Why did I do this? Why did I fight with Morrell?’ It would be torture for Benavidez to second guess himself for the rest of his life if the talented Cuban Morrell destroys him.
This is a very winnable fight for Morrell, who is stronger and more suited to the 175-lb division than Benavidez.
Benavidez is finally showing interest in facing the talented Cuban Morrell, and his recent lackluster performance against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3 could be the reason. Benavidez-Morell would be an excellent fight if it can be made. This would be a great addition to Gervonta Davis’ next undercard in December.
Despite hurting Kalajdzic several times and winning a wide 12-round decision, Morrell looked tentative in the fight. Morrell could have knocked him out if he had thrown sustained combinations,
After that performance, it’s no surprise that Benavidez came out of the woodwork, eager to fight Morrell. If Morrell solves that problem by throwing combinations, Benavidez will be in trouble.
“I’m making something big for you guys for my next fight. Stay tuned. If everything goes well and he accepts, (David) Morrell,” David Benavidez said on social media for his next fight in December.
Benavidez floated a vision he had prepared, saying that if he defeated the Beterbiev-Bivol winner to capture the four belts, he could defend them against Canelo Alvarez at catchweight. It was a crazy pipe dream because Benavidez’s chances of beating Beterbiev or Bivol would be practically nil.
Benavidez’s power at 168 was absent at 175, and it was clear he wasn’t the same fighter in this division. In other words, Benavidez cannot dominate against fighters his size and will have to figure out another way to win. If Benavidez continues to fight like he did at Super Middleweight, it’s only a matter of time before he gets knocked out.
If the fight with Morrell, 26, takes place, it is unclear whether Benavidez’s WBC mandatory spot will be on the line. If Benavidez loses, he can forget about getting the winner of the October 12th undisputed championship fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitri Bivol.
If Morrell can get his hands on the WBC mandatory spot, he would be the one to take on the winner of that fight if he could defeat Benavidez. This will mess up Benvidez’ plans for the mega payday he is counting on by fighting the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol fight.
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