Benavidez vs. Morell will be available live on PBC Pay-Per-View through Prime Video (no Prime membership required) in multiple countries. The main card start time is set to begin at 1:00 AM GMT on February 2 for UK viewers, while fans in the USA can tune in at 8:00 PM ET or 5:00 PM PT, aligning with the local start time in Las Vegas. The main event ringwalks are expected around 4:00 AM GMT for UK fans, 11:00 PM ET, and 8:00 PM PT in both the USA and Las Vegas.
Someone’s 0 has got to go.” “A guaranteed war!” “Genuine bad blood.”
All of the above lines and more are totally appropriate as far as this Saturday night’s fight between unbeaten 175 pounders David Benavidez and David Morrell goes. These two exciting punchers will slug it out, the WBC interim title on the line, and the winner will very likely go on to face the winner of the upcoming rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Indeed, the stakes could not be much higher.
And another element to the fight between the two Davids is the fact that neither man really had to take this fight. These two warriors, in their prime at age 28 for Benavidez, 27 for Morrell, deserve a ton of credit for agreeing not to swerve each other, to instead risk everything. The lead-up to Saturday’s fight has seen some pushing and shoving, some trading of insults and some nasty threats of all manner of violence. In short, Benavidez wants to lay some serious hurt on Morrell, and Morrell wants to inflict some serious pain on Benavidez.
Put the kids to bed before this one!
But who wins? The critics say Benavidez relies too much on his ability to take a good shot to the head, that his defence is leaky. This, though true, is what makes Benavidez, like almost all big punchers, so exciting to watch. Can Morrell, a southpaw boxer from Cuba who insists he has more skills than his rival, crack Benavidez’ chin? Or will “The Mexican Monster” take Morrell’s heart, and maybe his soul, as he breaks him down (and perhaps breaks some bones, this another vow Benavidez has made) to get the stoppage win?
It’s a great fight on paper, and there could be bloodshed in the ring. Benavidez is perfect at 29-0(24) and he carries with him that sense of utter belief that he will never lose. Morrell, who some suggest has taken this fight too soon in his career, is 11-0(9) and he feels he is the future of the light-heavyweight division. Both men are expected to give their all in the name of victory when they rumble at The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This fight could prove to be the Fight of the Year, it really could.
Some fights really are guaranteed to be thrilling, and this is one such fight. Interestingly, February 1st will mark the 25th anniversary of the epic Marco Antonio Barrera Vs. Erik Morales fight, which took place in Vegas and was fought at 122 pounds. Benavidez and Morrell and bigger, slower men, but just as much leather could be thrown as was the case when Barrera and Morales took each other to hell in the name of glory and settling a score.
Pick: despite an understandable feeling from some that this fight does not go the distance, the pick here is it does, with Benavidez emerging victorious with a close, perhaps controversial decision, this in a fight that is so exciting and at times brutal, it has fans immediately call for a part-2.
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