Veteran Gabe Rosado says David Morrell will need to “set traps” for him to hurt punter David Benavidez in their fight in 48 days on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rosado doesn’t think Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) can match the high output of Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and could be beaten by him by being buried with volume.
Many fans see Benavidez as too experienced for Morrell and his bulk makes him a nightmare. However, Cuban Morrell’s strength, mobility and skills give him a huge advantage. After one fight at 175, Morrell looks like a better fit for the division than Benavidez.
Morrell will put his ‘regular’ WBA light heavyweight title on the line against WBC interim champion Benavidez in his PBC headliner on Prime Video PPV. The winner of this fight will be able to challenge for the undisputed championship at 175.
Rosado’s prediction
“David Morrell vs. David Benavidez. I’m all for Benavidez, but you can’t sleep on Morrell,” Gabe Rosado said Fight Hub TV regarding the February 1 fight between these two fighters. “Benavidez didn’t have to take this fight. Morel was the one who needed this fight.
“Morel hit the jackpot. So if he can win this fight, he’s in there, because no one was really calling for Morrell. So this kind of shows what kind of dog Benavidez is. He says, “Okay, whatever. Let’s run it.’
“Nobody treats Benavidez like that,” Rosado said of Morrell trash-talking Benavidez during their bout. “It will be a fire station. They will both collide. It will be a question of who can do it because they will both land.
This is a big fight for Morrell to prove himself against a guy many fans believe is a future star. Benavidez has held back the last 11 years, choosing to fight at 168 instead of moving up to 175, where he has more opportunities for interesting fights. Had he moved up to light heavyweight in 2014, his career would have been longer. Benavidez foolishly thought Canelo Alvarez would eventually fight him and waited 10 years. What a mistake.
“I think Morrell is the bigger puncher of the two, but Benavidez takes you out with intensity,” Rosado said. “So what will he win? Will it be strength or will it be volume? That’s what it’s going to come down to because I don’t think Morrell will be able to match Benavidez’s bulk.”
There is no guessing who is the bigger puncher between Morrell and Benavidez. It is clearly Morrell. Could Benavidez be a bigger puncher if he didn’t focus on volume punching? Probably, but he’d rather throw punches in bunches than charge.
The Strategy: Traps
“He keeps hitting on you. He doesn’t get tired. So Morrell is going to have to set traps to land shots in this fight,” Rosado said.
Benavidez is getting tired. We saw it in his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15th. He was tired after six rounds and took several hard punches from Gvozdyk in the second half of the contest.
