The light heavyweight division will, on February 1, welcome the arrival of a major showdown that doesn’t include Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez when David Morrell takes on David Benavidez inside the Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena.
Although Morrell, a former titlist at super middle with a 11-0 (9 KOs) record, has never officially adopted the nickname “El Sicario” (“Dagger Man”) or “The Hitman,” this honorary title has been bestowed upon him by Alvarez’s die-hard Mexican fanbase according to his trainer Ronnie Shields.
“While Alvarez was fighting whomever he wanted over the past three years, competing in multiple divisions, my fighter was taking care of all of Canelo’s mandatory challengers within the WBA,” Shields explained. “In fact, Canelo’s fans have started calling David their ‘Hitman’ because that’s what he became for Alvarez; handling the challengers Canelo didn’t want to face!”
After claiming the secondary WBA strap in August 2020, Morrell delivered savage knockouts against Mario Abel Cazares and Aidos Yerbossynuly, effectively relieving Alvarez of his obligations to face these challengers. Whether either would ever have been deemed a worthwhile opponent for Alvarez is, of course, another matter.
Shields summed up Morrell’s mindset: “We knew we were never going to compete for the WBA super middleweight championship as long as Canelo was their champion. So we’re excited to get the next best thing, David Benavidez, in the first boxing PPV event of 2025. And if we can make millions of fight fans around the world happy in the process, we’re more than happy to fill that role.”
For Benavidez, 29-0 (24 KOs), the stakes are equally high. The Phoenix native has long sought a blockbuster fight with Alvarez, but his calls have gone unanswered.
Frustration simmered as Benavidez addressed the elusive matchup. “I don’t think that fight is ever going to happen, which is insane because that would be one of the biggest fights ever. Not only just for boxing, but for Mexican boxing history,” Benavidez said. “I’m 100 per cent confident that I could beat Canelo, and maybe that’s why the fight’s not happening. Maybe he wants easier fights. He wants fights like [Edgar] Berlanga, [Jaime] Munguia, and all these other people. I just feel bad for the people because you guys are missing out on a hell of a fight.
“This is what we’re doing it for, right? Aren’t we doing it for the people to give them the best fights, or is it just for people filling up their pockets like Canelo has been doing with all these other fighters and saying, ‘Fuck everybody? I’m not going to give you what you want to see. I’m just going to fight whoever I want.’ That’s kind of wacky.”
Read the full article here
