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The WBC has confirmed that the winner of next month’s fight between David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) will be the “mandatory challenger” for the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2.
Mandate of the CMB
If Bivol wins his rematch with undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev, there’s a chance they’ll fight a trilogy next. That means the Benavidez-Morrell winner has to wait until after the third Beterbiev-Bivol fight before getting a crack at all four belts.
It will depend on what Turki Al-Sheikh wants to do. If you want to see an immediate third fight between Beterbiev and Bivol, this will happen.
“Undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev will fight in a rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Interim champion David Benavidez will fight David Morrell on February 1. The winner will be the division’s mandatory challenger to fight the winner of Beterbiev vs. WBC.
Power at 175?
“I hope it happens. I don’t think it will happen, no,” David Benavidez said on PPV channel about his hopes of being able to fight Canelo Álvarez. “A lot of people ask me this question: ‘When are you going to fight?’ I don’t know
“It depends on Canelo. If he wants to make the fight, we can make it happen. Everyone knows it’s the biggest fight in boxing. So, I’m ready for when the time comes.
That’s the same reason I took this fight (David Morrell). I was already preparing for a tough fight in my head, I think there is no better experience than going against these tough fighters. This will prepare me for what comes next.
“I want to be one of the most dangerous fighters in boxing. I want to be one of those fighters you remember, like (Gennadiy) Golovkin and Julio Cesar Chavez. That’s the type of fighter I want to be. I don’t back down from anybody. I’m not afraid of anyone, and this is a way to prove it,” said Benavidez.
Benavidez will never be in the league of Gennadiy Golovkin or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr because he has no power. Morrell is more of a Golovkin level fighter than Benavidez. “The Mexican Monster” is a bump in volume, and he’s not going to become a power guy at 175. At 28, he’s not going to suddenly find power that was never there.
Every fighter wants to be blessed with Beterbiev-level power, but these are special people who only come around once in a while. Benavidez is still a good basic volume guy and can make a living, even if he’s been knocked out by the big puncher Morrell on February 1st. You have to be born with the genetics of power, and Benavidez was not blessed in that department.
Underrated skills?
“I feel like I have several aspects of my game that are underrated. IQ is one of them. Defense is another one of them. The third one is my power. I don’t know what it is about them, guys. They think that just because I like to eat and get a little fluffy out of season, I have no power.
“That all changes when they get in the ring with me. So I think everything I do is underrated. I don’t think I’m a good fighter until they get in the ring with me and they see, ‘Oh, this guy is a problem.'” , Benavidez said.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t give examples of fighters who didn’t think he was good until they got in the ring with him. Benavidez’s resume is weak and he has never fought a top-level fighter in his 12-year professional career. So when he talks about fighters saying, “This guy’s a problem,” he’s saying nothing because he’s faced B- and C-level opposition throughout his career.
Benavidez’s best wins:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk: 37 years old and recently out of 4 year retirement
– Demetrius Andrade: 36
– Plant Caleb
– Anthony Dirrell: 38
– David Lemieux
– Roamer Alexis Angulo
– Ronald Ellis
– Ronald Gavril
