Coach Jose Benavidez Sr. is delighted that David Morrell got into an altercation with his son David Benavidez today during their media workout in Miami. Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) refused to shake Benavidez’s hand during their face-off, and that angered him enough to shove the Cuban.
(Credit: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
Jose Jr. has worked up more than Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) through the face incident, and he vows to knock out WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion Morrell in their fight on February 1 at PBC Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Morrell may be a bit too good for Benavidez and could knock him out if he can land as often as his last opponent Oleksandr Gvozdyk did in their June 15 fight. Gvozdyk landed 223 punches on Benavidez. He won’t be up if he lands a Morrell that many shots. Morrell is possibly the biggest puncher in the 175-lb division, and he destroys fighters who stand in front of him and try to punch.
The only reason Morrell didn’t stop his last opponent, ‘Hot Rod’ Radivoje Kalajdzic, on August 3 was because he was on the move all night, making it difficult for him to land more than one punch on a get hit
Coach Talk
“That’s what you expect when you get two young fighters, strong and hungry. That’s what we expect,” Jose Benavidez Sr. said Fight Hub TVreacting to the exchange between David Benavidez and David Morrell during today’s media workout in Miami.
“I like what David Morrell says. He says he’s fighting a Robocop. Keep thinking that because you’re going to see a tornado on the day of the fight. You’re going to get the fuck up. This is what will happen. He says David (Benavidez) didn’t fight anybody. Who the *** did you fight?
“There are levels to this. David is on another level. David (Benavidez) tried to shake his hand. He tried to be polite but he (Morrell) was angry because he was nervous. That’s what’s happening. He doesn’t know what to do at this point.
“He has never been at this level. I hope he comes focused because on the day of the fight, David (Benavidez) is going to have all the people behind him, and he’s going to feel it. So, I hope he (Morell) gets it right. He’s never been in this kind of fight.”
Cuban connection
Benavidez Jr. is right that Morrell has never fought professionally at this level. In the amateurs, however, he fought twice for Cuban Olympic gold medal winner July Cesar La Cruzwhich is better than anyone Benavidez has fought during his professional career—even better than Benavidez. Morrell does have more than enough experience to defeat Benavidez. Morrell also fought the outstanding Cuban Olsleys Iglesias during the amateurs, and he’s also a better fighter than anyone Benavidez has fought in the pros.
“David is on another level. David is of a different race. David is going to beat him. I guarantee you a knockout,” Jose Sr. said. said, promising that his son, Benavidez, would beat Morrell.
Jose Sr. puts a lot of pressure on Benavidez, who guarantees a knockout against Morrell. It’s a better fighter than anyone he’s ever faced, and he’s also a bigger puncher.
Benavidez claimed that he couldn’t punch like he usually does in his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his debut at 175 due to injuries affecting both hands, but he has never been a KO artist during his career. His thing is to land an enormous amount of shots to get his knockouts, but he can’t do that against Morrell without getting clipped.
Benavidez vs. Gvozdyk Punch Statistics
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk: 223 of 675 for 33%
– David Benavidez: 270 of 749 for 36%
