Benavidez’s anger issues: Morrell advantage?

David Benavidez says he will use “everything” Cuban David Morrell has said about him to “fuel” his fire when they meet on February 1 in their light heavyweight main event on PBC on Prime Video PPV on T- Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. .

WBA ‘regular’ champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) just pointed out the obvious, saying that Benavidez has been avoiding him since 2022 and that he is a ““fat chick” and not the ‘Mexican Monster’ tough guy he tries to make fans believe he is. Morrell sees Benavidez as a “fake” imposter and, furthermore, a “chicken.”

Losing control?

“When I get in the ring, I try to do as much damage as possible because if I don’t catch you, they’re trying to catch me. So I take this very seriously,” David Benavidez told the Miami Hustle about his fight against David Morrell on February 1.

“I feel like every fighter I go in the ring with is trying to take the food off my plate and I’m not going to let that happen. David Morrell has been talking shit for a while. Try to say no. He’s been keeping my name in his mouth.

“He thought I was never going to accept the fight. So once we agreed to the fight, he tried to act like he wasn’t talking shit and not saying anything about me. “I’m using everything he said about me to fuel the fight,” Benavidez said of Morrell.

It looks like Benavidez will fight with anger and emotion against Morrell and put himself in a position to be caught by one of Morrell’s big power shots. That’s the problem with Benavidez. He is impulsive and has a temper problem.

Maybe that’s why he acted out and shoved Morrell when he refused to shake his head during their Dec. 17 press session in Miami. He couldn’t bear the humiliation of Morrell rejecting his attempt to shake her hand. Then he pushed him. He’s lucky Morrell didn’t hit him in the head with his heavy ‘regular’ WBA belt that he threw at him in response because it could cut him to pieces if he had marked him in the head.

Fighting angrily against a calm fighter like Morrell, who has technical skills honed after years of joining the Cuban amateur team, is a mistake.

If Benavidez fights like a savage against Morrell, he will be knocked out. This guy has one-punch power and has competed with two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist. Julio Cesar La Cruz and Osley Iglesias. These are superior fighters to anyone Benavidez has fought during his 12-year professional career, and arguably better than him.

“I can’t say because I haven’t been in the ring with him, but on paper, it seems like he’s got it all,” Benavidez said when asked if David Morrell is his toughest opponent to date. “He has range, speed, footwork and power. “That shit doesn’t scare me.”

No one on Benavidez’s resume matches Morrell’s size, youth, technical ability or power. This is easily the best fighter he will ever fight, and if he loses, he will prove it on February 1st. Gvozdyk used to be a good fighter years ago, but when Benavidez fought him, he was 37 years old, coming off a four-year retirement and a knockout loss to Artur Beterbiev. If Benavidez had fought the same version of Gvozdyk that knocked out Adonis Stevenson, he would have lost to him.

“I’ve been boxing for 25 years. I like it when I see a strong fighter that I’m about to get in the ring with because what satisfies me the most is to silence the people who think I can’t win, who think they’re going to knock me out. I know what I can do and that is why I accepted this challenge,” Benavidez said.

Boxing fans have doubted Benavidez’s ability to beat Morrell for years. They have also doubted his ability to compete in a natural division for his massive cruiserweight frame, at 200 or 175.

Benavidez should have already fought Morrell years ago and moved up to light heavyweight to face Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Additionally, Benavidez should have already fought at cruiserweight against Jai Opetaia because he has had the size to compete in that weight class for years. Instead of getting any of those fights, Benavidez played it safe, melting down at 168, delighting smaller and older fighters, and not getting the fight he wanted against Canelo Alvarez.

Delayed decision

“This is a challenge that not many people are willing to accept at 168 and 175. So I accept the tougher challenges. I want to be the most dominant fighter there is. So I’m going to continue doing what I have to do,” Benavidez said.

It took three years for Benavidez to finally accept the challenge from Cuban Morrell, who has been challenging him since 2022. Benavidez did not want to fight Morrell, but changed his mind after his unimpressive fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3 in Los Angeles.

What that means is that Benavidez is not as brave as he describes himself because if he wasn’t afraid, he would have fought Morrell in 2022 instead of choosing to fight these guys:

– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
–Demetrio Andrade
– Caleb Plant
–David Lemieux