Sergio Mora believes David Benavidez can become the next superstar in boxing once Canelo Alvarez retires. He was impressed with Benavidez’s 12-round unanimous decision win over WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
He sees Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) as being a PPV star soon, which would require that he beat the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 fight. Of course, if Benavidez loses to one of them, Mora will need to re-think his prediction about the ‘Mexican Monster’ becoming a huge star for the next five years.
The Beterbiev/Bivol Test
It’s very possible that Benavidez will fail to become the star by losing to Beterbiev or Bivol, or some of the contenders in the 175-lb division. You saw how marked up Benavidez got against the 12-fight novice Morrell. If he faces a puncher like Joshua Buatsi, it could be a lot worse.
“He’s the next superstar. Once Canelo goes into the sunset, it’s David Benavidez for the next five years at least that Mexicans are going to be supporting,” said Sergio Mora to Chris Mannix’s YouTube channel, praising ‘The Mexican Monster’ after his win over David Morrell last Saturday night.
“He’s willing to fight the best. That’s the main thing about David Benavidez. If you’re looking at his resume, it’s already impressive. From Demetrius Andrade to Caleb Plant to Gvozdyk and now this,” Mora Continued. “He welcomes all challenges, and that’s what boxing fans want. He’s going to be the next PPV star for the next five years.”
“He established himself outside of Bivol and Beterbiev, who are still 1-2 at light heavyweight. The next man up is clearly David Benavidez,” said Mannix. “Whatever happens with this Bivol-Beterbiev fight, regardless of what happens, I want to see the winner go up against David Benavidez.
It’s way too early to predict superstardom for Benavidez after this performance against the 12-fight novice Morrell. Benavidez took a lot of punishment in that fight, and that was against a fighter who was only fighting in spurts. Things could be much different for Benavidez against a relentless pressure fighter like Artur Beterbiev or a boxer like Dmitry Bivol.
The question is whether Benavidez can absorb a loss to Beterbiev or Bivol and still become a superstar with his Mexican fanbase. If they’re willing to overlook a knockout loss for Benavidez against Beterbiev or a decision defeat to Bivol, he could potentially become a PPV star as a contender or after those two retire or age enough for him to beat them.
“David Benavidez has spent the last couple of years frustrated at his inability to get a Canelo fight,” said Mannix. “Now, you can see a pretty clear pathway for Benavidez to become a superstar without Canelo. He takes this win, and maybe he gets the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol. He’s talking about fighting the winner of Zurdo Ramirez at cruiserweight.”
If everything goes well for Benavidez, and he impressively defeats the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 winner, it would help turn him into a star. However, it’ll still be hard for him to do so without becoming a crossover star in the U.S. like Oscar De La Hoya did.
The Charisma Factor
It won’t be enough for him to be embraced by Mexican American fans. He’s got to get the rest of the boxing fans in the U.S., and for him to do that, he needs to be more charismatic. Benavidez tends to say the same thing in every interview for all of his opponents. It’s always, “I’m going to break his face” or “I’m going to hurt him.” He doesn’t come up with new material, and it makes him predictable and dull. He doesn’t smile, laugh or joke. He’s always serious like he’s in a foul mood.
“There are a lot of good fights for him at 175 and above that can not only make him wealthier but can build that profile to where he wants it to be. This could not have gone better for Benavidez, who took a huge step forward on Saturday,” said Mannix.
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