The WBC has confirmed that the winner of next month’s fight between David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) will be the “mandatory challenger” for the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 winner.
WBC mandate
If Bivol prevails in his rematch with undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev, there is the possibility that they will fight a trilogy next. That means the Benavidez-Morrell winner has to wait until after the third Beterbiev-Bivol fight before they get a crack at the four belts.
It will depend on what Turki Al-Sheikh wants to do. If he wants to see an immediate third fight between Beterbiev and Bivol, it will happen.
“Undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev will fight a rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Interim champion David Benavidez will fight David Morrell on February 1st. The winner will be the mandatory challenger of the division to meet the winner of Beterbiev vs. bivol to fight,” per WBC.
Power at 175?
“I hope it happens. I don’t think it will happen, no,” David Benavidez told the PPV channel about his hope that he can fight Canelo Alvarez. “A lot of people ask me this question: ‘When are you going to fight?’ I don’t know.
“It depends on Canelo. If he wants to fight, we can make it happen. Everyone knows this is the biggest fight in boxing. So, I’m ready for whenever that time comes.
It’s the same reason I took this fight (David Morrell). I have already prepared in my head for a tough fight, I think there is no better experience to get than going against these tough fighters. It’s going to prepare me for whatever comes next.
“I want to be one of the most dangerous fighters in boxing. I want to be one of those fighters you remember, like (Gennadiy) Golovkin and Julio Cesar Chavez. These are the type of fighters I want to be. I don’t shy away from anyone. I’m not afraid of anybody, and this is a way I can prove it,” Benavidez said.
Benavidez will never be in the league of Gennadiy Golovkin or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr because he lacks power. Morrell is more of a Golovkin level fighter than Benavidez. ‘The Mexican Monster’ is a volume puncher, and he won’t become a power guy at 175. At 28, he won’t suddenly find strength that was never there.
Every fighter wants to be blessed with Beterbiev-level strength, but these are special people who only come around once in a while. Benavidez is still a good basic volume guy and can make a good living even if he was knocked out by big puncher Morrell on February 1st. You have to be born with the genetics for power, and Benavidez was not blessed in that department.
Underrated skills
“I feel like I have several aspects of my game that are underrated. IQ is one of them. Defense is another one of them. The third one is my strength. People, I don’t know what it is about them. They think just because I love to eat and I get a little fluffy out of season that I don’t have strength.
“It all changes when they get in the ring with me. So, I think everything I do is understated. “I don’t think I’m a good fighter until they get in the ring with me and see, ‘Oh, this guy’s a problem,'” Benavidez said.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t give any examples of fighters who didn’t think he was good until they got in the ring with him. Benavidez’s resume is weak, and he has never fought any high-level fighters during his 12-year professional career. So when he talks about fighters saying, ‘This guy’s a problem,’ that doesn’t mean anything because he’s had B- and C-level opposition throughout his career.
Benavidez’s best wins:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk: 37 and recently out of 4-year retirement
– Demetrius Andrade: 36
– Caleb Plant: Post-Canelo knockout loss
– Anthony Dirrell: 38
– David Lemieux: Journeyman
– Wanderer Alexis Angulo: Ditto
– Ronald Ellis
– Ronald Gavril
These are Benavidez’s best wins, and there isn’t anyone out there that you can say is a good enough fighter to make a big deal about him. He hypes himself up as elite, but who did he beat to prove it? Benavidez waited three years to fight Morrell after being called up in 2022, and you have to wonder why. He didn’t want to lose to the Cuban.
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