The WBC has confirmed that the winner of next month’s fight between David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) will be the “mandatory challenger” for the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitri Bivolo 2 .
WBC mandate
If Bivol wins his rematch with undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev, there is a possibility that they will fight next in the trilogy. That means the winner of Benavidez-Morrell has to wait until the third Beterbiev-Bivol fight before getting the four belts.
It will depend on what Turki Al-Sheikh wants to do. If he wants to see a third fight between Beterbiev and Bivol, it will happen.
“Undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev will fight in a rematch with Dmitri Bivola on February 22 in Riyadh. Interim champion David Benavidez will fight David Morrell on February 1st. The winner will be the division’s mandatory challenger against the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol,” po WBC.
Power at 175?
“I hope it will happen. I don’t think it’s going to happen, no,” David Benavidez told PPV channel about his hopes of being able to fight Canelo Alvarez. “A lot of people ask me, ‘When are you going to fight?’ I don’t know
“It depends on Canelo. If he wants to fight, we can make it happen. Everyone knows that it is the greatest boxing fight. So I’m ready whenever the time comes.
It’s the same reason I took this fight [David Morrell]. I was already preparing in my head for a tough fight, I think there is no better experience than going against these tough fighters. This will prepare me for whatever comes next.
“I want to be one of the most dangerous fighters in boxing. I want to be one of those fighters you remember [Gennadiy] Golovkin and Julio Cesar Chavez. Those are the fighters I want to be. I don’t give up before anyone. I’m not afraid of anyone, and this is the way I can prove it,” said Benavidez.
Benavidez will never be in the league of Gennady Golovkin or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. because he has no power. Morrell is more of a fighter on Golovkin’s level than Benavidez. The ‘Mexican Monster’ hits hard and won’t become a power guy at 175. At 28 he won’t suddenly find the power he never had.
Every fighter wants to be blessed with Beterbiev-level power, but these are special people who only come along occasionally. Benavidez is still a good guy with basic volume and can make good money, even if he gets knocked out by the big puncher Morrell on February 1st. You have to be born with the genetics for power, and Benavidez was not blessed in that department.
Underrated skills?
“I feel like different aspects of my game are underrated. IQ is one of them. Defense is another one of them. The third is my power. Guys, I don’t know what’s wrong with them. They think that just because I love to eat and get a little fluffy in the off-season, I don’t have the strength.
“That all changes when they get in the ring with me. So I think everything I do is understated. “I don’t think I’m a good fighter until they get in the ring with me and see, ‘Oh, this guy is a problem,'” Benavidez said.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t give examples of fighters who didn’t think he was good until they got in the ring with him. Benavidez’s resume is weak, and he has never fought a high-level fighter during his 12-year pro career. So when he talks about fighters saying, ‘This guy’s a problem,’ that’s saying nothing because he’s faced B—and C-level opposition throughout his career.
Benavidez’s best wins:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk: 37 years old and recently came out of a 4-year retirement
– Demetrius Andrade: 36
– The Caleb plant
– Anthony Dirrell: 38
– David Lemieux
– Wanderer Alexis Angulo
– Ronald Ellis
– Ronald Gavril
