Many followers are beginning to imagine that WBC interim gentle heavyweight champion David Benavidez made a mistake by selecting to struggle WBA ‘common’ champ David Morrell at this early stage of his profession earlier than getting the cash struggle he’s been in search of.
Morrell has the facility, velocity, and technical expertise to knock out Benavidez and ship him into the mud, the place he might by no means return. The Cuban expertise is a fighter that many imagine is the inheritor obvious to the crown at 175, and Benavidez picked the flawed man to worm his method into an enormous, life-changing payday.
The Beterbiev Payday
If David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) loses this struggle to Morrell, he can say goodbye to the $10 million+ payday he can get preventing undisputed gentle heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in 2025. That mega-money struggle would go to Morrell, who would get the final snort. Benavidez must work his method again to the highest, and there’s no assure he can.
Subsequent time, he must beat a younger top-level contender to seize an interim title at 175. It wouldn’t be the simple scenario he had this time, the place Benavidez fought 37-year-old Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC interim belt to line himself up within the pole place to struggle the undisputed championship towards the Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 winner.
The World Boxing Council obtained a lot criticism for sanctioning a struggle between Benavidez and Gvozdyk for his or her interim title at 175. This was Benavidez’s first struggle at gentle heavyweight, and he fought a person who had solely not too long ago come out of a four-year retirement.
In equity, Benavidez ought to have needed to work his method into place to struggle for the WBC interim 175-lb title, and his opponent ought to have been one of many high contenders, like Joshua Buatsi.
Yesterday’s scuffle on the media exercise, the place Morrell got here near clobbering Benavidez together with his WBA belt, is an attention-getter. This was an indication of what he has in retailer for him when he will get in with Morrell and was knocked out of their struggle on February 1st, reside on PBC on Prime Video PPV on the T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas.
A 50-50 Battle
That is by far the most effective fighter Benavidez can have fought throughout his 11-year profession, and it’s the one one the place he’s dealing with somebody with a 50-50 shot at beating. Up till now, Benavidez has supplied with gimmes when it comes to opponents with sure-thing wins the place he had no worries about dropping.
He had issues slanted in his favor from day one, preventing in a weight class beneath his gigantic gentle, weight body and preventing weak, middle-of-the-road opposition.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) didn’t must take this dangerous struggle towards the Cuban expertise Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs), who is healthier than him in each division. ‘The Mexican Monster’ would have doubtless nonetheless gotten chosen to struggle the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch with out taking this dangerous struggle towards Morrell.
The bravado that led to Benavidez’s resolution to take this gamble was created by his victories over smaller, older, hapless fighters at 168. His wins at tremendous middleweight
