Has Morrell faced tougher competition than Benavidez?

Coach Jose Benavidez Sr. is pleased that David Morrell had an altercation with his son, David Benavidez, during his media training session in Miami today. Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) refused to shake Benavidez’s hand during their fight, and that angered him enough to push the Cuban.

(Credit: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)

Jose Jr. was more emotional than Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) about the matchup incident, and vows to knock out “regular” WBA light heavyweight champion Morrell in their fight on 1 February at PBC. Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Morrell might be a little too good for Benavidez and could knock him out if he can land as often as his last opponent, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, did in their June 15 fight. Gvozdyk landed 223 punches on Benavidez. He won’t be standing if he drops a Morrell that many shots. Morrell is arguably the biggest puncher in the 175-pound division, and he destroys the fighters in front of him, trying to attack.

The only reason Morrell didn’t stop his last opponent, ‘Hot Rod’ Radivoje Kalajdzic, on August 3rd is because he was on the move all night, which made it difficult for him more than once fist at the same time.

Coach talk

“That’s what you expect when you get two young, strong, hungry fighters. That’s what we expect,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. Fight Hub TVreacting to the altercation between David Benavidez and David Morrell during today’s media workout in Miami.

“I like what David Morrell says. He says he’s fighting a Robocop. Keep thinking about it because you will see a tornado on fight day. You’re going to wear shit. This is what will happen. He’s saying that David (Benavidez) hasn’t fought anybody. Who the hell did you fight?

“There are levels to this. David is on another level. David (Benavidez) was trying to shake his hand. He was trying to be polite, but he (Morrell) was mad because he was nervous. That’s what’s going on. He didn’t knows what to do at this moment.

“He’s never been at this level. I hope he comes focused because on the day of the fight, David (Benavidez) will have all the people behind him, and he’ll feel it. So, I hope he (Morrell) takes it well. He’s never been in these kinds of fights.”

Connection to Cuba

Benavidez Jr. he’s right that Morrell has never fought at this level professionally. However, in the fans, he fought twice for the Cuban Olympic gold medalist July Cessar La Creuwhich is better than anyone Benavidez has fought in his professional career, even better than Benavidez. Morrell has more than enough experience to defeat Benavidez. Morrell has also fought the Cuban standout Olsleys Churches during the amateurs, and he’s also a better fighter than anyone Benavidez has fought in the pros.

“David is on another level. David is a different breed. David is going to beat him. I guarantee you a knockout,” Jose Sr. said, promising that his son, Benavidez, will knock out Morrell.

Jose Mr. he’s putting a lot of pressure on Benavidez, guaranteeing a knockout against Morrell. This is a better fighter than anyone he’s faced yet, and he’s also a bigger puncher.

Benavidez claimed he couldn’t hit like he normally does in his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his debut at 175 due to injuries affecting both hands, but he’s never been a KO artist in his career. His thing is to land a lot of punches to get his knockouts, but he can’t do that against Morrell without getting clipped.

Benavidez vs. Gvozdyk Punch Statistics

– Oleksandr Gvozdyk: 223 out of 675 for 33%
– David Benavidez: 270 of 749 for 36%