David Morrell says WBC interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez won’t be able to fight him offensively on February 1 because he won’t let him.
(Credit: Jacob De Leon/Tim Morrell)
Benavidez’s risky style
Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) says he will neutralize Benavidez’s offense by hitting him hard with counters, which is why he will be cautious in his opening as he usually does. If Benavidez decides to fight in his normal, reckless manner, warns Morrell, it will be a mistake he will regret.
Benavidez-Morrell will headline 26 days on PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Morrell, 26, will defend his WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title against 28-year-old ‘Mexican monster’ Benavidez.
It will be interesting to see how much punishment Benavidez can take in this fight before going down. If he doesn’t change his ultra-aggressive fighting style for this fight, Morrell is sure to knock him out because this guy is one of the biggest punchers in the 175lb 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 any twisted psychological warfare in the past. I’m sharp-minded and focused on February 1,” David Morrell told Sean Zittel. “I will not play any mind games.
“Put money wherever you speak. It’s one thing to say you’re going to do it, but it’s another thing to get in the ring and actually do it,” Morrell said, reacting to being told that Benavidez says he will constantly pressure him in every round.
“Let’s see if he’s capable of doing everything he says he wants to do. This will be a completely different fight compared to his past fights. He’s not going to be able to be as offensive and aggressive as he was because it’s not going to be that type of fight,” Morrell said.
From within
Benavidez only knows one style of fighting: pressuring his opponents from the inside. Although he is 6’2”, he has no game on the outside. He is 100% an internal fighter and one-dimensional, so he has no choice but to apply pressure. If the fight is from a distance, Morrell will cook him.
The power difference could sink Benavidez as he’s just a power puncher and can’t generate any pop on his punches. This is a product of his weak upper body. He was not blessed with strength like Morrell or Artur Beterbiev. On the inside, Morrell is far more powerful and capable of knocking out his opponents.
It was terrifying to watch what he did to Radivoj Kalajdžić in the third round of their fight last August. Kalajdžić crowded Morrell, hoping to overpower him from the inside. Morrell then delivered a series of blows to the head, all with knockout power, and forced Kalajdžić to shake off.
Benavidez does not possess 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, it cannot be fought from the outside.
“I’m not going to be an opponent that’s going to be there on the corner for the taking,” Morrell said. “I will start my own things, and I will have to adapt to that. It won’t just be a free-for-all for him where he can put pressure on me and corner me the way he has cornered other opponents in the past.”
Benavidez has pinned opponents smaller than him 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 Oleksandr Gvozdyk, he couldn’t dominate him on the inside like he did against his smaller opponents at 168. That’s why he looked so average and no better than any other contender in the league. division. He didn’t look like a top five light heavyweight.
Morrell’s counter-strategy
“I can tell you 100% that I will be able to counter, fight on 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 an opponent like me, if he makes a mistake or more mistakes, it’s going to be a heavy 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 loud punches and decision to fight up close. While that style worked for him, it also resulted in him getting hit a lot.
Morrell’s punching power may 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 Morrell will catch him.
