In what is being labeled as the ultimate grudge match of 2025, former two-time WBC world super-middleweight champion David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is set to face David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) on Saturday night, February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, airing live on Amazon Prime PPV.
David Benavidez and David Morrell were the two top contenders in the 168-pound division, but unfortunately, the then undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez managed to avoid both of them. Realizing that fighting for the undisputed super-middleweight crown wasn’t in their futures, both Benavidez and Morrell moved up to 175.
After winning the WBC world super-middleweight title at the age of 20, David Benavidez was stripped a year later due to a failed drug test. Benavidez would redeem himself on September 28, 2019, when he stopped Anthony Dirrell in the 9th round and became a two-time WBC world champion.
Benavidez’s triumph was short-lived, as he would get stripped of his title for a second time. Going into his fight against Roamer Alexis Angulo, David Benavidez weighed 2.8 pounds over the 168-pound limit.
With a victory, Angulo could have won the newly vacant WBC world title, but unfortunately for him, Benavidez won via 10th-round stoppage. Benavidez would go on to stop his next three opponents. His victory over David Lemieux earned him the vacant WBC Interim title.
Once he won the interim title, Benavidez placed the undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on his radar. Benavidez was lobbying for the Canelo fight, but Canelo made excuses in regard to why Benavidez wasn’t a deserving opponent.
Benavidez would proceed to win a world title eliminator against Caleb Plant and a second world title eliminator against Demetrius Andrade. After establishing himself as the clear-cut number one contender at 168, the undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez still refused to defend his crown against Benavidez.
Benavidez would call Canelo out after every fight, and he would also call Canelo out during the course of every interview he conducted for various platforms. While Benavidez continued to stalk Canelo Alvarez, a Cuban phenom placed Benavidez on his radar.
David Morrell made his pro boxing debut back in August 2019 when he posted a first-round knockout victory over Yendris Rodriguez Valdez. In the third bout of his professional career, Morrell scored a unanimous decision victory over Lennox Allen and won the vacant WBA (regular) super-middleweight title.
During a two-year period, Morrell had five successful defenses of his title. Morrell was Canelo’s other mandatory, but he never pressed the issue about getting his shot at the undisputed crown because he was convinced that Canelo would never fight him.
Instead of focusing on an undisputed title opportunity, Morrell decided to target Benavidez. David Benavidez held on to hope as it relates to a title opportunity vs Canelo, but once Benavidez realized a world title match at 168 wasn’t realistic, he moved up to 175.
David Benavidez made his light-heavyweight debut back in June 2024, when he scored a unanimous decision victory over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and won the WBC Interim title. Two months later, his rival David Morrell made his light-heavyweight debut by outpointing Radivoje Kalajdzic and winning the WBA (regular) light-heavyweight title.
Now, the two Davids are set to face each other in a risky, high-stakes battle. The winner of the David Benavidez vs David Morrell clash will be in a position to fight for the undisputed light-heavyweight crown.
David Benavidez is a skilled pressure fighter who has high level hand speed, he’s an excellent body puncher, throws a lot of well placed combinations, has good punching power, he delivers a lethal uppercut, and he has the ability to sustain a high work rate throughout the duration of a bout. His opponent, David Morrell, is an athletic southpaw who is very dangerous.
Morrell has the ring intelligence, he has speed, excellent footwork, and legitimate punching power in both hands. The David Benavidez vs David Morrell bout is a battle between a pair of aggressive fighters. The winner of this bout will be the boxer who can effectively box off the back foot and take advantage of the counter-punching opportunities.
David Benavidez has listened to David Morrell’s call-outs and trash-talking for a significant amount of time. During the final press conference, Benavidez used it as an opportunity to vent his frustration.
“I’ve trained extremely hard, now we’re ready you know, now we come with our energy, not like this f*ckin p*ssy right here,” Benavidez said. “Peace and love, where is all that sh*t you was talking back then? Now this guy’s nervous. I’m going to beat the f*ck out of you, and I hope you don’t have no f*ckin excuses because you look scared as f*ck right now.”
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