Will Benavidez’s chin hold up against Morrell?

Trainer Kenny Ellis thinks David Benavidez will “overwhelm” David Morrell with volume and break him down in the later rounds. Ellis believes Benavidez will become more formidable as the rounds go on.

WBC interim light heavyweight champion Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and WBA ‘regular’ champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) meet in 15 days on PBC on Prime Video PPV on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ellis predicts Benavidez won’t take as long to figure out Morrell as Caleb Plant because he’s a better boxer. Plant looked too small in the ring compared to the much bigger, lighter, heavyweight size Benavidez, and he didn’t have the strength to back him up.

Morrell’s power

“As long as Morrell’s belt didn’t hit Benavidez. Those belts are extremely heavy and can cause extreme rupture if they hit you right, and that would have delayed the whole damn fight,” trainer Kenny Ellis said. MillCity Boxingtalking about David Morrell throwing his WBA ‘ordinary’ light heavyweight belt at David Benavidez after being bumped by him during their face off at the media workout in Miami on December 17th.

“In that fight, David Morrell has that one-punch knockout power where he can catch, and he can catch Benavidez. I just think ‘The Mexican Monster’ is going to overwhelm him with everything. He’s going to tear him down as the Mexican Monster gets stronger and stronger as the rounds go by.

“He’s got a good punch himself, but I can’t see Morrell outboxing him because he won’t have that space to set it up. He’s not going to have that break between shots to set it up because once the Mexican Monster starts. he’s going to make you uncomfortable. He’s not going to let you set anything up,” Ellis said.

Benavidez shoved Morrell at the media workout, causing him to throw his belt at him. It wasn’t like Morrell threw his belt for no reason. He did so because Benavidez pushed him hard when he refused to shake his hand.

Morrell can box, but he’s going to be forced to go to war with Benavidez because he’ll be chasing him around the ring. This could work in Morrell’s favor as he likes to move and then stop throwing hard punches at his oncoming opponents. He catches them as they step forward. If he nails Benavidez with a hard shot, he might knock him out.

“It’s a possibility,” Ellis said when asked if Morrell might hit Benavidez so hard that his punch volume isn’t as high as it usually is because he’ll be afraid of getting hit by the Cuban. “Anything can happen, but I’m dealing with the ‘Mexican Monster’.”

It is doubtful that Benavidez will change his normal approach of burying his opponents with activity if Morrell hits him hard. If he focuses on throwing at the head of ‘The Mexican Monster’, it won’t work because he has excellent bump resistance. However, I’ve never seen Benavidez get hit much by a fighter with elite power.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk had great power, but he didn’t throw enough hard punches. He mostly hit his shots, tried not to get tired, and focused on boxing. That style allowed Benavidez to build a huge lead through eight rounds. It was too late when Gvozdyk finally did show up in the championship rounds, and he needed a knockout. This is the only real puncher Benavidez has ever fought other than David Lemieux, who was old and over the hill when they fought.

“I like Morrell though. I think (Caleb) Plant is a better boxer than Morrell. I don’t think it’s going to take that long for Benavidez to figure him out, and back him up, and do what he’s doing. At the same time, Morrell has that one-touch power that can change things and slow things down. But I rock with ‘The Mexican Monster,’ Ellis said.

Caleb Plant tried to fight Benavidez on the inside, and took a lot of punishment in the second half of the fight. Early on, Caleb did well and got the better of him by the fifth. Morrell isn’t going to fight Benavidez on the inside, but if he does, he showed in his fight against Hot Rod that he has formidable power on the inside.