David Morrell says he’s not been trying to intimidate David Benavidez or play games by laughing and having fun during the press conferences ahead of their fight this Saturday. Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) states that’s his personality.
(Credit: Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions)
He feels that Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is always angry about something, and that’s him. He shows an ugly face, like a person with a permanent chip on his shoulder. If Benavidez had grown up on the Cuban national team like Morrell, he’d be a different person or be weeded out. It would probably be the latter.
Some people are temperamental from birth, and they’re permanently like that, like a rabid dog. You know when you see one. Benavidez might be one of those, and it’s going to work against him big time against Morrell on Saturday. You can’t fight like a lunatic against a Cuban-schooled fighter without getting taken apart.
Too Emotional
That could be a product of Benavidez growing up as a fat kid and getting teased and dismissed by people. He’s always agitated, which may work against him on Saturday if he fights like a madman.
During Thursday’s final press conference, Benavidez looked like he needed a 72-hour psych hold. He slammed Morrell’s manager and stood up like he wanted to throw down against the whole team. He’s too emotional. That will get him in trouble against Morrell and possibly knock him out.
You can tell from watching Benavidez that he has no amateur experience because he couldn’t fight like that and be victorious against world-level talents. He’s gotten away with this style as a pro but never fought anyone young and talented. Jose Benavidez Sr.’s dad has picked his opponents well, focusing on 35-year-olds.
Anger Management Issues?
“It’s me. I don’t have time to be angry. It’s my personality,” said David Morrell to the PPV YouTube channel when asked if he’s been trying to intimidate David Benavidez. “David says, ‘You’re not focused on this fight.’ I’m focused.
“You’re angry, always angry with an ugly face. I’ve got a smile on my face. It’s my personality. His personality is angry. It’s not my fault. It’s your problem. I’m ready for everything,” said Morrell when asked if he benefits more from a war or a boxing match.
“All three,” said Morrell when asked if he’d throw a left hook, right hand, or an uppercut. “Everything is important.”
Morrell makes some good points. Benavidez behaves like a hothead during interviews and fights the same way. He’s constantly pressuring, loading up on every shot, throwing combinations, and exhausting himself in the process.
He can fight like he did in his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, against Morrell, or the other light heavyweights in the division without burning himself out. He didn’t look good in the last four rounds against Gvozdyk, taking shots that would KO most fighters in the weight class.
Morrell will throw more power shots than Gvozdyk did, and with greater power. If Benavidez has seemed superhuman with his ability to take a punch, every fighter gets hurt eventually.
If they’re not showing it, the damage is still being done internally, taking something out of them. Benavidez won’t change his style for Morrell or any fighter at 175. He’ll try and walk through his shots, and it will be interesting to see if he can take those punches without falling apart in the later rounds like he did against Gvozdyk.
Even Canelo Alvarez noticed that Benavidez wasn’t the same fighter in his debut at 175. The power is different in that weight class, and the fighters aren’t old and small. They won’t fold at 175 like the old-timers ready for convalescent homes, like the ones Benavidez feasted on for 11 years at 168.
Can Benavidez Handle Morrell’s Power?
“Morrell is likely to throw a lot of punches, and that’s going to come into play in the second half of this fight,” said Chris Mannix on his YouTube channel. “Experience. Morrell has had a long amateur career, and we’ve loved what we’ve seen from him, but he’s just 11-0.
“Benavidez is 29-0. If you look at the resumes, Benavidez has been in the ring with the likes of Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade, and a whole bunch of B, B+-level guys. The best opponent in Morrell’s career is Yamaguchi Falcão. I wouldn’t know who the best guy would be up to this point.”
Benavidez’s experience is too superficial for him to get credit because he beat guys who were over the hill, old, and smaller than him. All you have to do is look at the size difference and the age of the guys Benavidez was fighting to know that his experience wasn’t against cutting-edge opposition.
If we’re just going to look at the names of the fighters Benavidez fought without looking at their age, size, disadvantage, and how many years they’d been in the sport, you can say his experience will definitely be an asset. Looking at it that way, Morrell has little chance of winning because he hasn’t fought the same quality of competition. However, the truth is that Benavidez fought washed-up fighters for 11 years before moving up to 175 and looked very average against Gvodzyk.
“This is a fight that I could see really competitive early, and maybe a little cagey because Benavidez has to be worried about that knockout power of Morrell. But when it gets to the second half of the fight, I can see a scenario where Benavidez just takes over,” said Mannix.
I see it the opposite. Benavidez will bum-rush Morrell from the start just as he did Gvozdyk and Andrade. He’ll try to outgun Morrell in a war. If he’s got the chin to take Morrell’s shots, he’ll win. It could be difficult if Morrell moves around the ring like fellow countryman Andy Cruz did in his win over Omar Salcido.
If Morrell boxes Benavidez, he can make him look like a scrub and possibly knock him out. Benavidez is nowhere near the boxer that Morrell is, and he’s helpless on the outside because of his lack of reach. He’s purely an inside fighter that gets hit a lot.
“I think Morrell is tough and can go the distance, but with Benavidez, that work rate is going to be really difficult for an experienced fighter at the pro level for Morrell to deal with,” said Mannix.
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