David Morrell and David Benavidez have confirmed that they’re in Negotiations for a fight. Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) said on social media that an offer has been sent, and he’s waiting for WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) to accept it. Both fighters have confirmed that the negotiations are ongoing between them.
Morrell, 26, made his debut at light heavyweight on August 3rd, beating former 175-lb world title challenger Radivoje Kalajdzic by a wide 12-round unanimous decision to win the WBA secondary title in one of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season events at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
The scores were 117-111, 118-110 and 117-111. Morrell hurt the hard-hitting Kalajdic numerous times in the fight but failed to jump on him the way he needed to get the knockout.
After the one-sided battle, fans criticized Morrell for being tentative and not finishing a fighter who IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev had destroyed in five rounds in May 2019. Morrell didn’t show the same killer instinct that Beterbiev had displayed against Kalajdzic.
However, if Morrell had shined against Kalajdzic, ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez likely wouldn’t have been eager to fight him now. You hate to say it, but despite his reputation as a great talent, there’s a calculated, cherry-picking quality about Benavidez that has carried him this far.
Benavidez didn’t want to fight Morrell until he looked human against Kalajdzic, and he also hadn’t shown a willingness to fight at 175 against fighters his own size until his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his 11th year as a pro.
The Cuba-born Morrell has been calling out Benavidez for a couple of years now but with no luck until now. Benavidez finally realizes that he needs this fight against Morrell to increase his chances of landing a title shot at 175 because his last performance against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15th was underwhelming.
Benavidez didn’t impress in his debut at 175 against former WBC light heavyweight Gvozdyk. His power was not the same as it had been at 168, and he ran out of fuel after the midpoint of the fight. The judges still gave Benavidez a wide 12-round unanimous decision, but the fight looked like a draw in real terms.
Benavidez is popular, and the fight took place in Las Vegas. It would have been a draw if it had been staged in neutral territory because Benavidez had nothing left after the sixth. Going by that performance, you’ve got to give Morrell an excellent chance of defeating Benavidez and knocking him out if he increases his punch output to fix the flaws in his game that he’d shown against Kalajdzic.
For both fighters, it’s the best fight that can be made for the time being while the 175-lb champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol battle it out to find out who the King is for the light heavyweight division. Those two could fight twice, leaving Morrell and Benavidez to wait.
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