Benavidez’s long arms pose a challenge for Morel, Andrade says

Demetrius Andrade questions whether WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell has the long enough arms to get around David Benavidez’s guard when they meet on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Benavides’s Reach

Andrade had trouble hitting Benavidez’s back because of his long arms in their fight last year and was eventually stopped in the sixth round. He was surprised by Benavidez’s sheer size, and he was too big for him.

Cuban Morrell has much more reach than Benavidez, by 78 inches compared to his 74,” so he shouldn’t have the same problems as Andrade. Demetrius began his professional career at 154 and moved up to 168 in 2023. He only fought once in the weight class against Demond Nicholson before facing Benavides.

Benavidez’s reach, weight and youth seemed to give Andrade problems. He looked much heavier, like a light heavyweight or a cruiserweight fighting a middleweight.

“Because he was a big, strong guy, he could absorb it.” He was much heavier than me,” said Demetrius Andrade Fight Hub TV on his loss to David Benavidez on November 25, 2023.

“After that fight (Benavidez vs. Alexander Gvozdyk at 175), he said, ‘I can still make 168,’ because he felt the difference in weight. He (Benavidez) couldn’t do what he can do when he’s not a bully.

“He’s in a good match now against David Morrell.” They are two types of the same size. I think David Morrell is talented. I don’t know if he has the experience to really beat David. (Morel) is a big kid. He has decent speed but is a bit wild with his shots. That comes with experience, of course.”

Benavidez didn’t look good in his debut at 175 against Oleksandr Gvozdyk last summer on June 15 and was outmatched throughout the fight by the stronger fighter. His power seemed weak against the weight and he was lucky to make the decision. If Gvozdik was a more popular fighter, he would have won because he landed better shots.

Can Morrell adapt?

“David (Benavidez) has long arms. “Morel is bigger than me,” Andrade said. “When you hit him (Benavidez), his arms are so long that it’s hard to hit him. You have to pinpoint your shots against him. I don’t know if Morrell has it in him.

“I’m a sharp shooter, and David was able to block a lot of shots from me with his length.” So you have to set him some clean, walking traps,” Andrade said