Rosado: Morrell needs traps to counter Benavidez’s volume

Veteran Gabe Rosado says David Morrell will have to set “traps” for him to hurt volume puncher David Benavidez in their fight in 48 days on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rosado doesn’t think Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) can match the high output of Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and can be knocked out by him by being buried with volume.

Many fans see Benavidez as too experienced for Morrell, and his volume makes him a nightmare. However, the Cuban Morrell’s strength, mobility and boxing skills give him a huge advantage. After one fight at 175, Morrell seems more suited to the division than Benavidez.

Morrell will put his WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title on the line against WBC interim champion Benavidez in their main event at PBC on Prime Video PPV. The winner of this fight will be able to challenge for the undisputed championship at 175.

Rosado’s prediction

“David Morrell vs. David Benavidez. I favor Benavidez, but you can’t sleep on Morrell,” Gabe Rosado said Fight Hub TV about the February 1 match between these two fighters. “Benavidez doesn’t have to take this fight. Morrell was the one who needed this fight.

“Morell kind of hit the jackpot. So, if he can win this fight, he’s there because nobody really called Morrell out. So, that kind of shows what kind of dog Benavidez is. He’s like, ‘Okay, whatever. Let’s manage it.’

“No one acts like that with Benavidez,” Rosado said of Morrell trash-talking Benavidez during their face-off. “It’s going to be a firefight. They are both going to collide. It’s going to be a matter of who can take it because they’re both going to land shots.

This is a huge fight for Morrell to prove himself against a guy many fans feel is a future star. Benavidez has held back for the past 11 years, choosing to fight at 168 rather than move up to 175, where he has more opportunities for interesting fights. If he moved up to light heavyweight in 2014, his career would be on a further path. Benavidez foolishly thought Canelo Alvarez would finally fight him, and he waited for 10 years. What a mistake.

“I think Morrell is the bigger puncher of the two, but Benavidez gets you out with the volume,” Rosado said. “So, who’s going to win? Is it going to be power or is it going to be volume? That’s what it’s going to come down to, because I don’t think Morrell is going to match Benavidez’s volume.”

There is no guessing who is the bigger puncher between Morrell and Benavidez. It’s clearly Morrell. Can Benavidez be a bigger puncher if he doesn’t focus on volume punching? Probably, but he prefers to throw punches in bunches rather than charge up.

The strategy: traps

“He’s constantly hitting on top of you. He doesn’t get tired. So, Morrell is going to have to set traps to land shots in that fight,” Rosado said.

Benavidez does tire. We saw this in his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15th. He was tired after six rounds and received many hard blows from Gvozdyk in the second half of the match.