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David Morrell says interim WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez won’t be able to fight him on the offensive on February 1st because he won’t let him.
(Credit: Jacob De Leon/Tim Morrell)
Benavides’ risky style
Morel (11-0, 9 KOs) says he will neutralize Benavidez’s offense by hitting him hard with counters, making him cautious in his opening, as he usually does. If Benavidez decides to fight in his normal, reckless way, warns Morel, it will be a mistake he will live to regret.
Benavidez-Morel will headline 26 days on PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Morel, 26, will defend his ‘regular’ WBA light heavyweight title against 28-year-old ‘Mexican monster’ Benavidez.
It will be interesting to see how much punishment Benavidez can absorb in this fight before going down. If he doesn’t change his ultra-aggressive fighting style for this fight, he will definitely get knocked out by Morrell because this guy is one of the biggest punchers in the 175-lb division. He has one punch power, and can knock out Benavidez if he fights like a wild man like he usually does.
“This is all part of the show.” I don’t know if Benavidez has tried some twisted psychological warfare against anyone else in the past. I’m sharp minded and focused on February 1st,” said David Morrell Sean Zittel. “I’m not going to play mind games.”
“Put your money where your mouth is. It’s one thing to say you’re going to do it, but it’s another thing to get in the ring to actually do it,” said Morel, reacting to being told that Benavidez says he will pressure him non-stop in every round.
“Let’s see if he is capable of doing everything he says he wants to do.” This will be a completely different fight compared to his previous fights. “He won’t be able to be as offensive and aggressive as he was because this is not going to be that type of fight,” Morrell said.
On The Inside
Benavidez knows only one fighting style: pressuring his opponents from the inside. Although he is 6’2″, he does not have an outside game. He’s 100% an inside fighter and one-dimensional, so he has no choice but to apply pressure. If the fight is fought from a distance, Morrell will cook him.
The power difference could sink Benavidez because he’s just a big puncher and can’t generate any punch with his punches. That’s a product of his weak upper body. He was not blessed with strength like Morrell or Artur Beterbiev. Internally, Morel is far more powerful and capable of knocking out his opponents.
Watching what he did to Radivoj Kalajdzic in the third round of their fight last August was terrifying. Kalajdžić crowded Morel, hoping to overcome him from the inside. Morrell then fired a flurry of punches to the head, all with knockout power, and Kalajdzic reeled.
Benavidez doesn’t have any power on the inside, and could find himself in trouble when he tries to fight Morrell up close. Again, Benavidez has no choice but to fight on the inside because for some reason he can’t land longer punches. It could be some physical problem with his body or a bad experience he had in the past. Whatever it is, he can’t fight from the outside.
“I’m not going to be an opponent who’s going to be on the corner for the taking,” Morrell said. “I’m going to make my own things happen, and I’m going to have to adjust with that.” It’s not going to be just a free-for-all for him, where he’s going to be able to press and pin me the way he’s cornered other opponents in the past.”
Benavidez has pushed smaller opponents against the ropes in the past when he campaigned at 168. He was a welterweight who fought at super middleweight for a weight and size advantage.
When he finally moved up to 175 last summer against former WBC champion Alexander Gvozdyk, he couldn’t dominate him on the inside like he did against his smaller foes at 168. That’s why he looked so average and no better than any fringe contender in the division. He didn’t look like a top five light heavyweight.
Morrell’s Counter Strategies
“I can tell you 100% I’ll be able to counter, fight off the back foot for whatever is asked of me,” Morrell said. “He can be as aggressive as he wants, but he better not make a mistake because at this level, with the type of opponent I am, if he makes a mistake or makes multiple mistakes, there will be a high price to pay,” Morrell said.
Benavidez was hit a lot by Caleb Plant, hurt twice by Anthony Dirrell, hammered often by Demetrius Andrade, and knocked out by Ronald Gavril. He leaves himself open to counter punches with his aggressive volume punches and his decision to fight up close. While that style worked for him, it also led to him getting hit a lot.
Morello’s punching power might be too much for Benavidez in the end, and we’ll likely see a knockout by the sixth round. Benavidez will fight like a wild man and Morel will catch him.
