Former super middleweight titleholder David Benavidez Jnr had been seeking some of the biggest fights available before lining up a matchup with David Morrell Jnr for February 1, and that plan seems to remain unchanged for Benavidez even after that fight.
A challenge for the undisputed light heavyweight championship against the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol rematch could be in the cards, but Jose Benavidez Snr – the father and trainer of Benavidez Jnr – has refused to rule out a clash with WBA and WBO cruiserweight belt holder Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez.
In any case, Benavidez, 29-0 (24 KOs), has Morrell to focus on ahead of their headline bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Benavidez Snr said his son is more than ready to face any opponent at 175.
“David Benavidez is only 28 years old,” Benavidez Snr told Fight Hub TV during the fighter’s media workout in Las Vegas. “The plan is to keep going, fight David Morell to get an opportunity with Bivol, Beterbiev and maybe Zurdo Ramirez. That’s the plan.
“We just wanna face the monsters of the division. Zurdo Ramirez just got another belt. We saw yesterday another champion, Jai [Opetaia], and I think they might face each other, and maybe we’ll face the winner of that. Like I said, David is only 28 years old. We’re not afraid to lose our undefeated record, but we’re not gonna do that.”
Benavidez, of Phoenix, has been in a war of words with Cuba’s Morrell, 26, as the fighters prepare for their battle in the ring, which Benavidez promises will end in a convincing win for him over Morrell.
For his part, Benavidez Snr predicted the fight would not go beyond 10 rounds.
“So I see David hitting hard,” Benavidez Snr said. “He’s just out of this world right now. He’s super-motivated, ready to go. I’m very confident that he’s gonna come and destroy this guy and go and see bigger and better things.”
Benavidez Snr called Morrell – who won gold at the 2016 Youth World Championship and who most recently took a unanimous decision over Radivoje Kalajdzic, then 29-2, in August – a “dangerous fighter.” But he believes his son is on a different level.
“We’re not underestimating him,” Benavidez Snr said of Morrell. “David is training super-hard. David right now is super-motivated mentally, physically and, man, like, you know, now another baby on the way, so he’s extra-motivated for that.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].
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