The David Benavidez vs. David Morrell clash at 52 days on February 1 will be a WBC lightweight eliminator final to decide the mandatory February 22 rematch between undisputed 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
There’s a ton of money at stake for the Benavidez-Morrell winner. Whoever emerges victorious will fight the Beterbiev-Bivol winner for big dough, likely in Riyadh, and make a fortune against one of them. For ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez, it’s the payday he’s been chasing his entire career in his relentless pursuit of a fight against Canelo Alvarez.
Mandatory WBC position
Morrell’s WBA 175lb “regular” title and Benavidez’s WBC interim belt will be on the line for their February 1st clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Their event will air on PBC on Prime Video PPV.
Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) could upset the applecart by defeating Benavidez, who has prided himself during his 11-year pro career, fighting in a division below his massive cruiserweight frame and competing smaller, smaller opposition throughout. His resume is littered with older, smaller fighters like Demetrius Andrade, Roamier Alexis Angulo, David Lemieux and Anthony Dirrell.
If Benavidez loses this fight, the fans will know that he was just a fake hype job all these years and was never the guy he led them to believe. In other words, a weight bully would be a pretty fair description.
The more experienced pro Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is considered a slight fan favorite. However, Morrell is the slightly younger, faster, stronger puncher and the better technical fighter. He also has superior stamina to Benavidez, who looked exhausted after six rounds in his debut at 175 last summer on June 15 in his Las Vegas clash with Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
Gvozdyk, 37, had the better power in this fight and was the one who pushed the fight to the last six rounds. The judges got it for Benavidez with a wide 12-round decision, but it appeared to be a draw. In other words, A-side fighter David got lucky.
Many suspect that “the Mexican monster” isn’t the same guy now that he’s fighting at a higher weight, carrying more weight on his frame and facing opposition of the same size with superior strength.
