‘I’m gonna hurt David Morrell as much as possible’

As the fight between David Benavidez and David Morrell Jnr begins to heat up, one thing is certain to follow: tension. Benavidez believes Morrell is showing signs of fear as they prepare for their upcoming clash.

The fighters are scheduled to slug it out in a light heavyweight contest slated for T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on February 1.

Benavidez acknowledges the high stakes ahead of the fight, saying that he’s ready to make Morrell pay for the disrespect shown to him.

“I’ve been sensing fear since we had the first press conference,” Benavidez told BoxingScene. “This is something obviously people from the outside, they can’t see. But me, I’ve been doing this for a long time.

“When we do a face-off, there’s certain moves that he makes, and I know for a fact he’s scared of me. And I know he’s nervous because his moment is getting closer and closer. But it doesn’t matter to me. He could be as scared as he wants. I’m 100 per cent focused and I’m gonna go in there.”

The fighters came close to throwing blows during a media workout event last Tuesday. Benavidez had joined Morrell on stage and tried exchanging handshakes with him, but Morrell refused.

It didn’t end there. Benavidez responded with some trash talk before delivering a hard shove to Morrell’s chest. Morrell responded by throwing his WBA “regular” championship belt at Benavidez as the two fighters were separated and kept apart, preventing the situation from escalating any further.

Commenting on the fracas, Benavidez said, “I thought him throwing the belt was kind of funny. Honestly, I would never throw my belt at somebody just because I know the weight of the belt and I know it might hit somebody in the face.

“It could cancel the whole fight. So, I mean, I think that’s just how scared I have this guy. He knows that I’m not coming to play with him, and he knows that I’m on his ass every time until we fight.

“You know what I mean? So for him, that kind of looked like he was already trying to get off the fight to me. He knew it. He’s aimed straight at my face and he has good aim, too. I feel like this is what we need to sell the fight. I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me, and it just means it makes a better fight for all this stuff, to be honest with you.”

Against Morrell, Benavidez, 29-0 (24 KOs), will be making his second fight at 175lbs, following his decision to move up from super middleweight after being denied a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

In his light heavyweight debut, Benavidez secured a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Oleksandr Gvozdyk, winning an interim title in the process.

Morrell, 11-0 (9 KOs), most recently decisioned Radivoje Kalajdzic over 12 rounds at 175. 

Benavidez says he’s working tirelessly to ensure an emphatic win.

“The only thing I envision in my head when I see this fight is me beating David Morrell by knockout,” he said. “I don’t know what round it’s gonna be and then I’m not gonna say I’m going in there fast looking for the knockout, because I’m not. I’m going to follow my game plan, and that’s gonna be good enough to give me the knockout.

“I’m gonna go in there with my game plan, and the knockout will come. I don’t know when it will come, but I will knock out David Morrell. I’m gonna do the job to the best of my abilities, and I’m gonna go in there, I’m gonna hurt David Morrell as much as possible.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected]