David Morrell says WBC interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez won’t be able to fight him offensively on February 1 because he won’t let him.
(Credit: Jacob De Leon/Team Morrell)
Benavidez’s risky style
Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) says he will neutralize Benavidez’s offense by hitting him hard with counters, making him wary of opening up like he usually does. If Benavidez chooses to fight in his normal, reckless fashion, warns Morrell, it will be a mistake he will live to regret.
Benavidez-Morrell will appear on PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in 26 days. Morrell (26) will defend his WBA ‘ordinary’ light heavyweight title against 28-year-old ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez.
It will be interesting to see how much punishment Benavidez can take in this fight before going down. If he doesn’t change his ultra-aggressive fighting style for this fight, he will be knocked out by Morrell for sure because this guy is one of the biggest punchers in the 175-lb division. He has one-punch power, and he can KO Benavidez if he fights like a wild man like he usually does.
“It’s all part of the show. I don’t know if Benavidez has tried some twisted psychological warfare on anyone else in the past. I’m sharp and focused on February 1st,” said David Morrell Sean Zittel. “I’m not going to play any mind games.
“Put your money where your mouth is. It’s one thing to say you’re going to do it, but it’s another thing to step into the ring to actually do it,” says Morrell, responding to the fact that Benavidez says he’s going to push him relentlessly in every round.
“Let’s see if he is able to do everything he says he wants to do. This is going to be a completely different fight compared to his previous fights. He’s not going to be as attacking and aggressive as he can because it’s not going to be that type of fight,” Morrell said.
On the Inside
Benavidez knows only one fighting style: pressure his opponents on the inside. Although he is 6’2”, he has no outside game. He is 100% an inside fighter and one dimensional, so he has no choice but to push. If the fight is fought from a distance, Morrell will cook him.
The difference in power could sink Benavidez as he is just a volume puncher and can’t generate any pop on his punches. It’s a product of his weak upper body. He is not blessed with power like Morrell or Artur Beterbiev. On the inside, Morrell is much more powerful and capable of knocking out his opponents.
Watching what he did to Radivoje Kalajdzic in the third round of their fight last August was terrifying. Kalajdzic swarmed Morrell, hoping to get him over on the inside. Morrell then unleashed a flurry of headers, all with knockout power, and left Kalajdzic reeling.
Benavidez doesn’t possess any kind of power on the inside, and he could run into trouble when he tries to fight Morrell. Once again, Benavidez has no choice but to fight on the inside because he can’t throw longer punches for some reason. It could be a physical problem with his body or a bad experience he had in the past. Whatever it is, he can’t fight on the outside.
“I’m not going to be the kind of opponent that’s going to be right there on the corner to take,” Morrell said. “I’m going to make my own things happen, and with that I’ll have to adapt. It’s not just going to be a free-for-all for him where he can push me and pin me like he’s cornered other opponents in the past.”
Benavidez has pinned smaller opponents against the ropes in the past when he fought at 168. He was a light heavyweight who fought super middleweights for a weight and size advantage.
When he finally moved up to 175 last summer against former WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, he couldn’t dominate him on the inside like he did against his smaller foes at 168. That’s why he looked so average and no better than any additional competitor in the division. He didn’t look like a top-five light heavyweight.
Morrell’s counter strategy
“I can tell you 100% that I will be able to counter, fight on the back foot for whatever is required of me,” Morrell said. “He can be as aggressive as he wants, but he better not make a mistake because at this level, with the kind of opponent that I am, if he makes a mistake or multiple mistakes, there is going to be a high price be too much for him,” Morrell said.
Benavidez was hit a lot by Caleb Plant, hurt twice by Anthony Dirrell, nailed frequently by Demetrius Andrade, and dropped by Ronald Gavril. He leaves himself open to counter shots with his aggressive volume punch and his decision to fight close. While that style worked for him, it also led to him getting hit a lot.
Morrell’s punching power may end up being too much for Benavidez, and we’ll likely see a knockout by the sixth round. Benavidez will fight like a wild man and get caught by Morrell.
