Benavidez vs. Morrell: A “dark beat” underway?

Trainer Greg Hackett says David Benavidez will use his experience and body punches to defeat David Morrell on February 1st. Hackett sees this as a competitive fight for the first five rounds, with Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) looking good, but Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) will take the fight and tear him apart.

Hackett shares the opinion of many people that Benavidez has too much experience in the pros for the 26-year-old Morrell to handle.

Although Morrell has fought many times in the amateurs against better fighters than Benavidez has faced in the pros, he has not had the experience of fighting longer bouts. Only three of Morrell’s games have reached round 12 in his five-year career.

Benavidez-Morrell will meet in 38 days at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event can be seen live on PBC on Prime Video PPV. Morrell will defend his WBA “regular” lightweight title in his second contest at 175. Benavidez will have his interim WBC belt on the line.

Benavidez’s aggressive style

“He tried to hit him with the belt. It was crazy,” Greg Hackett said YSM Sports Media about how David Morrell tried to hit David Benavidez with his WBA belt after he pushed him at his media training.

“He knows he’s a threat, and there’s a lot to do. They both have something to prove because they’re in a new weight class. Some people like Morrell, and some people like Benavidez. You always know this is a fight ‘high intensity because your coaches show up at camp.

“Look for a real shootout. Look for Morrell to be trying all his tricks, and for Benavidez to dig in deep and go to that body and really try to tear him up. I think it’s a little too early for Morrell. I’m picking up Benavidez all day. I think he’s the more experienced, meaner, more proven fighter,” Hackett said.

It won’t be easy for Benavidez to target Morrell’s body because he moves and has a wicked left hand, making it risky for the Mexican monster. He’ll try to go to the body, but he might feel it later if Morrell catches him.

Coach predicts ‘Dark Beating’

“Morrell will look good in the top five. Maybe the top three before we see him turn, but I say top five, he (Morrell) will look good. Then Benavidez will start looking more and more, looking scary. It will start to get dark. It’s going to be one of those dark beats,” Hackett said.

Morrell was at his best in the early rounds of his August 3 fight against ‘Hot Rod’ Radivoje Kalajdzic, but seemed to slow down in the second half. However, Morrell still pitched with power even in the championship rounds. Kalajdzic held on a lot, which saved him from taking a lot of hard shots down the stretch.

Benavidez doesn’t hold back, and his defense is his offense. Morrell can do a lot of damage against this type of fighter, and could even knock him out if Benavidez gets careless.