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 Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2. .
WBC mandate
If Bivol wins his rematch against undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev, it’s possible they fight a trilogy next. That means the Benavidez-Morrell winner must wait until after the third Beterbiev-Bivol fight before having a chance at all four belts.
It will depend on what Turki Al-Sheikh wants to do. If he wants to see an immediate third fight between Beterbiev and Bivol, it will happen.
“Undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev will play a rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Interim champion David Benavidez will face David Morrell on February 1. The winner will be the division’s mandatory challenger to face the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol,” according to GB.
Power at 175?
“I hope it happens. I don’t think it’s going to happen, no,” David Benavidez said at the PPV. channel on his hopes of being able to fight Canelo Alvarez. “A lot of people ask me this question: ‘When are you going to fight?’ I don’t know.
“It’s up to Canelo to decide. If he wants to fight the fight, we can do it. Everyone knows it’s the biggest fight in boxing. So, I’m ready whenever that moment comes.
It’s the same reason I accepted this fight (David Morrell). I was already preparing for a tough fight in my head, I think there is no better experience to have than facing 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, like (Gennadiy) Golovkin and Julio Cesar Chavez. That’s the kind of fighter I want to be. I don’t back down from anyone. I’m not afraid of anyone and this is a way to prove it,” Benavidez said.
Benavidez will never be in the league of Gennadiy Golovkin or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr because he does not possess power. Morrell is more of a Golovkin level fighter than Benavidez. “The Mexican Monster” is a volume striker, and he’s not going to become a power man at 175. At 28, he won’t suddenly find power that was never there.
Every fighter wants to benefit from Beterbiev-level power, but these are special people who only come around occasionally. Benavidez is still a good base volume guy and can make a good living, even if he gets knocked out by big puncher Morrell on February 1st. You have to be born with the genetics of power, and Benavidez was unlucky in that department.
Undervalued skills
“I feel like several aspects of my game are underestimated. IQ is one of them. Defense is another. The third is my power. People, I don’t know what’s wrong with them. They think that because I like to eat and I’m a little fluffy out of season, I have no power.
“Everything changes when they get in the ring with me. So, I think everything I do is underrated. I think I’m not a good fighter until they get in the ring with me and see, ‘Oh, this guy is trouble,'” Benavidez said.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t give any 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 top fighter in his 12-year professional career. So when he talks about fighters saying, “This guy is trouble,” it doesn’t mean anything because he’s faced B and C level opposition throughout his career.
Benavidez’s best victories:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk: 37 years old and recently out of retirement for 4 years
– Demetrius Andrade: 36
– Caleb Plant: Knockout defeat after Canelo
–Anthony Dirrell: 38
– David Lemieux: Journeyman
–Roamer Alexis Angulo: Same
–Ronald Ellis
– Ronald Gavril
These are Benavidez’s best wins, and there’s no one out there who you can say is a good enough fighter to make a big deal about him. He presents himself as being among the elite, but who has he beaten to prove it? Benavidez waited three years to fight Morrell after he retired in 2022, and one has to wonder why. He didn’t want to lose against the Cuban.
