Shawn Porter picks WBC interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez to beat WBA ‘regular’ champion David Morrell in their fight within 53 days on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Like many, Porter feels former two-time WBC 168-lb champion Benavidez’s experience gives him the edge in his 12-round fight against Cuban Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs).
Title implications
Benavidez vs Morrell news on PBC Prime Video PPV. The winner of the fight will be in a position to challenge for a world title against the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Challenging Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch.
“55-45 for Benavidez. The thing that I think Benavidez has over Morrell is experience, is real power,” Shawn Porter told Fight Hub TV about the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell clash on February 1 in Las Vegas.
“Both of those guys are big guys, but I think Benavidez is more of a natural 175 pounds. When you’ve had the experience of having resistance in a 12-round fight, it’s nothing new for you. Morrell has had no resistance.
“That fight with Hot Rod, it was a different kind of resistance. It was the resistance of someone staying away from you and not being able to catch up with him. With Benavidez, he can hit with him. He’s just that fast,” Porter said.
Benavidez can punch Morrell if he chooses to stand still, but he probably won’t. Even in his last fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic, he moved a lot and didn’t allow him to drop his hard shots. Morrell had the strength and youth advantage in that fight, but didn’t use it the way he needed to dominate him.
“He can box, and that kind of resistance and the mental game with you. It becomes a roller coaster ride. David Benavidez was on that ride. Morrell did not. I favor Benavidez. This one, I could see eight rounds, nine rounds before something like that could happen to Morrell,” Porter said when asked if Benavidez could knock Morrell out early like he did in his sixth-round knockout of Demetrius Andrade last November 25 .
Benavidez’s experience advantage over the 26-year-old is quite significant, which is understandable considering the Cuban fighter only has 11 fights under his belt as a pro.
The best fighters on Benavidez’s resume:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
– Caleb Plant
– Demetrius Andrade
– Ronald Gavril
– Anthony Dirrell
– Denis Douglas
In comparison, Morrell only has these three:
– Radivoje Kalajdzic
– Yamaguchi Falcao
– Aidos Yerbossynuly
“Morell is bigger than anyone else. He is taller than anyone else. He is as fast as anyone else. He’s probably stronger than anybody else,” Porter said.
Can Morrell pull off an upset?
Morrell is going to have to throw more into this fight than he’s used to in order to have a chance to defeat Benavidez because he will be outworked by him if he doesn’t. It won’t impress the judges if Morrell gets outclassed by Benavidez 8-1.
Having more power won’t help Morrell if Benavidez beats him with volume, as he did his last opponent, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, on June 15. Gvozdyk had the better power and landed the bigger punches, but Benavidez outworked him. That was the difference.
