David Benavidez is still convinced he has David Morrell “scared” from him for a hard hit he took during their bout at a media training session on December 17th to promote their February 1st fight.
The ‘Mexican Monster’ uses fear to promote the fight, and he often talks about it in his interviews, saying he sees it in Morrell.
This focus on fear is pointless because it won’t stop Morrell from throwing punches on February 1st. You can tell by looking at Benavidez that he is worried about this fight. For him, millions are at stake.
Benavidez’s fear projection
Morrell fought the two-time Cuban gold medalist Julio Cesar La Cruzand he didn’t look scared. That guy is a better fighter than Benavidez by a mile.
It seems important to him that Morrell is scared. If Benavidez believed in himself, he wouldn’t have focused so much on seeing fear in the Cuban. The fact that he didn’t want to fight Morrell for two whole years is an indication that it was he who lived in fear.
“I scared him. I definitely know that he is 100% afraid of me. I’m going to beat him on February 1st,” David Benavidez told Bet On Yourself YouTube channel, talking about David Morrell.
“If I could have sat on my punches, I would have taken that guy out of there,” Benavidez said of his last opponent, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, whom he beat last year on June 15. “That’s a big part of why I did this fight [winning the WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title from Morrell].
“Also, the other part is I have to go in there and shut that guy up. I got to show the world what I’m all about, and I can beat up David Morrell in front of everyone. If you beat the best of the best, the money will come. What’s important to me is the respect you get from people, and the money will come, that’s fine,” said Benavidez.
The part about Benavidez not being able to sit on his punches sounds to some like he’s making excuses to try to explain away his poor performance against Gvozdyk. I would have preferred if Benavidez had kept quiet and admitted that he struggled in his first fight at 175. Mentioning injuries sounds weak.
It didn’t look like Benavidez was hurt, but it’s understandable why he would mention his ailments. He was terrible in that fight that should have been scored as a 12 round draw.
The judges gave Benavidez the decision, but he looked 100% like he didn’t do enough to win. So his reference to injuries is now permanently understandable. This is called ‘damage control’.
False bravado
“David Morrell is a good fighter. Cuban school of boxing, they are technical fighters. As for me, I have a lot of experience. I was in the ring with many great champions, not only in fights, but also in sparring. I have a dog in me. I just have to get in there and activate it,” Benvidez said.
Judging by the way the ‘Mexican Monster’ is speaking, he will try to outwork Morrell, hoping to get through his punches and knock him out or win a hard-fought decision. Benavidez is tailor-made for Morrell with his emphasis on combination shots, which will leave him wide open for the Cuban’s counter punches.
It’s a risky way to fight Morrell because he’s not an old, undersized fighter like many of the guys Benavidez beat during his 168 campaign against shorter guys.
Sick speed‼️ Who do you have on February 1st? https://t.co/jCHBTyF3Y3
— Leonard Ellerbe (@LEllerbe) January 3, 2025
