Benavidez vs. Morrell: Talking All That Jazz 

This Saturday, live on Amazon Prime PPV from Las Vegas, Nevada, two unbeaten fighters meet in a 50-50 type scrap at the light heavyweight division. The battle of the Davids is an intriguing style matchup, with Benavidez and Morrell possessing read power in both hands. Generally, in modern-day boxing, a fight like this would be marinated for a more extended period of time. This boxing podcaster would like to thank both boxers and their respective camps for taking on this challenge.

For the last few years, David Benavidez has made a name for himself in boxing. Taking on all comers regardless of the risk involved, instead of waiting around looking for the reward. The reward is of course the golden ticket a fighter receives when Canelo Alvarez picks his opponents. Now, let’s get one thing clear when it comes to wording picks. Of late and really for some time now Canelo has been choosing opposition that could be nicely defined as hit or miss.

That said, Canelo earned his way to this position and has taken advantage of it to the full extent. Names like Edgar Berlanga and Avni Yildirim had no business sharing a ring with Canelo. It is important to remember that the depth of Alvarez’s resume has faced Floyd Mayweather, Dmitry Bivol, Erislandy Lara, Gennadiy Golovkin 3 times, and Miguel Cotto, among other quality combatants. But for some reason, when it comes to taking on David Benavidez, Canelo has turned down the largest upfront guarantee of his career. It does appear Canelo may be fighting Terrence Crawford in September, a fighter he said he wouldn’t get the proper respect for a win due to his weight.

David Morrell turned pro in August of 2019, fighting twice that year. Due to Covid19 Morrell wasn’t able to enter the ring against until August of 2020. David Morrell’s climb up the ladder of the 168 pound division, and most recently the light heavyweight division has been filled with entertainment. Morrell’s hand speed, power, and fancy footwork gained attention rapidly. Fighting out of Minneapolis his adopted hometown the crowds have increased for every outing. Now he’s on the biggest stage in Las Vegas as a slight underdog.

David’s first 12 rounder in the pro ranks came in his third bout versus Lennox Allen. The second time he reached the 12th round came in a brutal beating over Aidos Yerbossynuly. After two quick knockouts in a row Morrell’s toughest test was his last fight, 12 hard earned rounds against Radivoje Kalajdic. David appeared to be looking for one big shot rather than staying more active and attacking the body. The crafy vet in Kalajdic was able to win rounds and put Morrell thru some adversity.

What will we see different from Morrell versus Benavidez will have a lot to do with what he learned back in August. After defeated Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade, Benavidez went up to 175 to take on a solid guy in Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Benavidez didn’t have his best stuff but was also apparently dealing with some injuries, either way David the vast majority of the rounds. One could say neither guy has his best performance in their last fight but it was Morrell who showed less if that makes sense.

Experience is one of the main keys for the outcome of Saturday night’s main event. Clearly David Benavidez has a considerable amount more of experience. Both in the ring officially and in his years of sparring top flight boxers when he was young. Does that sparring count more than the amateur experience that David Morrell has is a fair question?  Experience comes with learned lessons so let’s see if Morrell can be discipline enough to stick to a game plan. Also, if it’s not working with he make the necessary adjustments.

David Benavidez can take a little while to warm up offensively and tends to square up in front of his opponents as he attempts to find his way inside.  David’s footwork can be an issues as he comes forward looking to wear down and hurt foes with a sharp jab and combination punches. He does have better defense than given credit for. He is very good at blocking punches with his gloves. When he shells up he can avoid power punches however when in that defensive posture it will be up to Morrell to find the holes and score points in the early goings.

Using angles throughout the fight will be a key for David Morrell. Lateral movement along with his jab along with effective power pot shots. Limiting the amount of time Morrell stands in the pocket trading punches with Benavidez is another key. Morrell can just pity-pat and move he will need to land Mayweather-esque counter punches or well-timed lead shots that everyone including the judges can see. Setting traps making Benavidez pay and miss is a must for Morrell to get his hand raised at nights end.

At times Morrell will need to stop Benavidez in his tracks and even back him up in spots. Can Morrell counter Benavidez’s jab will be another item to keep an eye on. If Morrell can frustrate Benavidez enough to make him reach with his punches, that’s ideal scenario for the Cuban native. Both boxers tend to reach with their punches with their backhand. This fight will be very entertaining mixing high level skill with fight ending power. Some of it will be Benavidez trying to catch up to Morrell while other round will be fought in the trenches. Look for Morrell to get off to a great start in the early frames.

Can Morrell resist looking for a show-stopping one-punch knockout? Morrell can’t allow defensive lapse when up close getting to comfortable. The calmness and attention to game plan is a must for both men. At the end of the day Benavidez has the experience factor and the momentum at this time. This might be my Minneapolis bias coming out but this boxing junkie does believe that Morrell is getting underrated at this point.

The last two-three years many people across the boxing world believed Morrell was ready to take on Benavidez. One underwhelming performance in his last fight now has many of those same folks saying he is not ready. I’ve been a proponent of Morrell needing more quality rounds versus solid opposition this whole time. Normally that would be shutdown saying Morrell is ready now when it was like 2 years ago. The great thing about this debate is we get to find out this Saturday.

My Official Prediction is David Benavidez by Majority-Decision

Side Note: The co-feature is a rematch between Stephen Fulton and Brandon Figueroa along with 2 other bouts and the prelims should make for an energy packed card.

Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, I-Heart Radio & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio