Fans are still on a high after watching last night’s expected, and fully delivering, action fight between unbeaten 175 pounders David Benvidez and David Morrell. The fight delivered as advertised, the two-way action proving memorable. In the end, Benavidez, who really did do some great body work in particular, got the unanimous decision, even if he had to survive a late-rounds knockdown.
Now 30-0(24), the 28 year old “Mexican Monster” arguably picked up the biggest, most important win of his career so far in beating 27 year old Morrell, now 11-0(9). And for Benavidez, the future is as bright as the ring action was red-hot in Las Vegas.
Speaking at the post-fight presser, Benavidez – who showed Morrell respect by handing him back his WBA “regular” belt, the WBC interim title also being on the line last night – answered when he was asked if he feels he is now a pound-for-pound fighter.
“I have a great resume,” Benavidez said, quite correctly. “I think this [win] puts me in the pound-for-pound list – probably number-nine……ten. Six (laughs). I feel like when you’re in the pound-for-pound list, you’re a multiple [weight] champion. I mean, I guess I am a multiple champion. Yeah, I’m happy I’ve finally cracked that list, that’s something I’ve been trying to do for a long, long time. It shows my progression and the evolution of me being a fighter. I’m excited, and hopefully one day I’ll be number-one.”
Next up for Benavidez, maybe, will be a fight with the winner of the upcoming return fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. A win there, and Benavidez would really be in with a shout at being in the top half of the pound-for-pound lists we all love so much to debate. A rematch with Morrell is also a possibility, while Benavidez hasn’t quite given up yet when it comes landing a mega-fight with Canelo Alvarez; even if we fans pretty much have grown tired of asking to see that fight.
For now, Benavidez is celebrating his big win. Benavidez closed some critical mouths with his performance, and he showed again that he is not only consistently exciting, but also an incredible hard worker, both in the gym and in the ring. I wonder, has Benavidez reached his peak yet, his prime? If not, how much better can Benavidez get?
Benavidez’s best wins so far:
W12 David Morrell
W12 Caleb Plant
WTKO9 Anthony Dirrell
WRTD6 Demetrius Andrade
W12 Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
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