Benavidez vs. Morrell: a ‘dark beating’ in the making?

Trainer Greg Hackett says David Benavidez will use his experience and punches to defeat David Morrell on February 1st. Hackett sees this as a competitive fight for the first five rounds, with Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) looking good, but Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) will take over and take him out.

Hackett shares many people’s opinion that Benavidez has too much experience in the pros for the 26-year-old Morrell to handle.

Although Morrell fought many times in the amateurs against better fighters than Benavidez faced in the pros, he did not have the experience of fighting longer fights. Only three of Morrell’s games reached the 12th round in his five-year career.

Benavidez-Morrell will meet in 38 days at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be broadcast live on PBC on Prime Video PPV. Morrell will defend his WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title in his second contest at 175. Benavidez will have his interim WBC belt on the line.

Benavidez’s aggressive style

“He tried to hit him with the belt. It was crazy,” Greg Hackett told YSM Sports Media about how David Morrell attempted to hit David Benavidez with his WBA belt after pushing him during their media training.

“They know that each other poses a threat and there is a lot that needs to be done about that. Both have something to prove because they are in a new weight class. Some people like Morrell and some like Benavidez. You always know it’s a high-intensity fight because your coaches have arrived at the camp.

“Look for a real firefight. Look for Morrell to try all his tricks, and look for Benavidez to dig deep and go at that body and really try to tear it apart. I think it’s a little too early for Morrell. I pick Benavidez all day. I think he’s the most experienced, baddest fighter and most tested fighter,” Hackett said.

It won’t be easy for Benavidez to target Morrell’s body because he moves and has a wicked left hand, which makes it risky for the Mexican Monster. He’ll try to go to the body, but he might regret it later if he gets cut by Morrell.

The coach predicts a “dark beating”

“Morrell will look good in the top five. Maybe top three before we see the breakthrough, but I say top five, it is [Morrell] it will look good. Then Benavidez will start to look more and more scary. It will start to get dark. It’s going to be one of those dark beatdowns,” Hackett said.

Morrell was at his best in the early rounds of his fight on August 3 against ‘Hot Rod’ Radivoje Kalajdzic, but seemed to slow down in the second half. However, Morrell still shot powerfully even in the championship rounds. Kalajdzic held his own, saving himself many heavy shots down the stretch.

Benavidez doesn’t hold up and his defense is the attack. Morrell can do a lot of damage against that type of fighter and could even KO him if Benavidez becomes careless.