Coach Jose Benavidez Sr. predicts his son, “Mexican Monster” David Benavidez, will “destroy” David Morrell in their 11-day light heavyweight contest on February 1 on PBC on Prime Video PPV in Las Vegas.
This fight will show if Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) is just a “fake“Monster”, living off the hype he got fighting against smaller opposition at 168, or if he’s real. Morrell says he’s seen fighters like Benavidez and considers him 100 percent “fake.”
Now that Benavidez is fighting at 175 against a younger fighter the same size as him, but more powerful, he could be exposed by Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs).
An exit strategy already planned?
According to Team Morrell, Benavidez is between 215 and 220, so he has the size to reinvent himself at cruiserweight if he loses against the talented Cuban on February 1.
If Benavidez loses, he may have to decide if he wants to move up to cruiserweight to try to save his career at that weight class. Staying at 175 would be a mistake for him because if he can’t beat Morrell, then he surely won’t be successful against Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol.
Jose Sr. is already discussing a exit strategydiscussing the possibility of Benavidez moving up to cruiserweight to challenge WBA and WBO champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez for his belts. He is expected to wait his turn until IBF champion Jai Opetaia faces Zurdo in a three-belt unification. But either of these guys would be willing to fight Benavidez after a loss to Morrell.
Even if he was eliminated by Morrell, they would be willing to fight him because he would still be popular and he would probably have excuses for why he lost. He mentioned his injuries to explain why he played poorly against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and the fans believed him. He could do the same thing if he lost to Morrell, and people would give him a pass.
“We are 100% locked in with Morrell. He’s a tough fighter, a younger fighter. He is a double world champion and he is hungry. We don’t underestimate this guy,” José Benavidez Sr. told Sean Zittel about David Morrell, who David Benavidez faces on February 1.
“We are there 100%. David (Benavidez) is 28 years old. In my mind, I think David is going to destroy him (Morrell). Let’s focus on this right now. Of course, David has big dreams. He wants to fight the winner. Who doesn’t want to face the winner of Bivol and Beterbiev? Maybe even fight Zurdo Ramirez at cruiserweight.
“These fights are great. Big monsters in this division, and there are big opportunities at this weight. Zurdo Ramirez is going to fight the other guy (IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia) for the belt, and I hope we get the opportunity to do that too,” Benavidez Sr. said.
