Shawn Porter is siding with WBC interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez to beat WBA ‘regular’ champ David Morrell in their fight in 53 days on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Like many, Porter feels that the former two-time WBC 168-lb champion Benavidez’s experience gives him the edge in his 12-round fight against the Cuban Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs).
Title Implications
Benavidez vs. Morrell will headline on PBC on Prime Video PPV. The winner of the fight will be in a position to challenge for a world title against the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch.
“55-45 for Benavidez. The thing that I think Benavidez has over Morrell is experience, is true strength,” said Shawn Porter to Fight Hub TV about the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell clash on February 1st in Las Vegas.
“Both of those guys are big guys, but I think Benavidez is more of a natural 175-pounder. When you’ve had the experience of having resistance in a 12-round fight, it’s nothing new to you. Morrell had not had resistance.
“That fight with Hot Rod, that was a different kind of resistance. That was the resistance from somebody staying away from you and him not being able to catch up to him. With Benavidez, he can bang with him. He’s just as fast,” said Porter.
Benavidez can punch with Morrell if he chooses to be stationary, but he probably won’t do that. Even in his last fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic, he was moving a lot and not allowing him to land his hard shots. Morrell had the power and youth advantage in that fight, but wasn’t using it the way he needed to for him to dominate.
“He can box, and that kind of resistance and the mental game with you. It becomes a roller coaster ride. David Benavidez has been on that ride. Morrell hasn’t. I’m favoring Benavidez. This one, I could see eight rounds, nine rounds before something like that could happen to Morrell,” said Porter when asked if Benavidez could wipe out Morrell early as he did in his sixth-round knockout of Demetrius Andrade last year on November 25th.
Benavidez’s experience advantage over the 26-year-old is pretty significant, which is understandable given that the Cuban fighter has only 11 fights under his belt as a pro.
The best fighters on Benavidez’s resume:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
– Caleb Plant
– Demetrius Andrade
– Ronald Gavril
– Anthony Dirrell
– Denis Douglin
In comparison, Morrell only has These three:
– Radivoje Kalajdzic
– Yamaguchi Falcao
– Aidos Yerbossynuly
“Morrell is bigger than anybody else. He’s taller than anybody else. He’s just as fast as anybody else. He’s probably stronger than anybody else,” said Porter.
Can Morrell Upset?
Morrell is going to have to throw more in this fight than he’s been accustomed to for him to have a shot at defeating Benavidez because he’s going to get outworked by him if he doesn’t. It won’t impress the judges if Morrell is getting out-landed 8 to 1 by Benavidez.
Having more power won’t help Morrell if Benavidez beats him with volume, as he did his last opponent, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, on June 15th. Gvozdyk had the better power and landed the bigger punches, but Benavidez outworked him. That was the difference.
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