A potential fight between David Benavidez and David Morrell is the match fans are anxious to see this fall, especially if Morrell is victorious on August 3rd in his battle against Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic. Those two are fighting for the vacant WBA World Light Heavyweight title at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
The logical fight to make is between Morrell and Benavidez next. Those two can meet in a semi-final, with the winner fighting for the undisputed championship against the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev victor.
Benavidez’s Move to 175
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is now campaigning at 175 after failing to get the fight he’d been pushing for against Canelo Alvarez at 168. He’s fought once at light heavyweight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15th and looked decent but far from exceptional.
The match Benavidez wants now is the winner of the October 12th fight between light heavyweight champions Beterbiev and Bivol. However, it’s unclear if those two will fight a second time. If it’s a competitive fight, we’ll likely see a rematch because there will be too much fan interest for there not to be.
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez can’t afford to sit and wait for the rematch between Bivol and Beterbiev to play out without fighting someone. It’s important that Benavidez stay active while waiting for the smoke to clear from the Bivol-Beterbiev fight. If they only fight once, Benavidez can be next, but there’s a lot of talk there will be a rematch between the champions.
Former WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) has repeatedly called out Benavidez and would willingly agree to fight him next.
If Morrell is victorious against Kalajdzic, he’ll be the WBA ‘regular’ 175-lb champion and would have a belt to defend against Benavidez. Some boxing fans believe Benavidez is afraid of Morrell, knowing how good he is and recognizing that there would be a high probability of being beaten.
“The fight we should be seeing this fall is Benavidez vs. Morrell. They’re both with PBC. I think David Morrell is an absolute killer,” said Mike Coppinger to Chris Mannix’s podcast channel about wanting to see David Benavidez take on David Morrell Jr. at 175.
“That guy doesn’t get enough exposure for whatever reason. I think it’s a very dangerous fight. I don’t know that Benavidez beats Morrell, but that’s the fight I want to see. Morrell is at 175 as well. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that he’s moving up as well.”
Fans have been calling for Benavidez to face Morrell for the last two years, but the match hasn’t happened. Morrell recently gave up hope of getting a fight against Benavidez and moved up to 175.
The 26-year-old Morrell knew there were no opportunities for him at 168, so he opted to move up to light heavyweight to pursue a fight against Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
“I spoke to Benavidez a couple of months ago, and he said he wants Morrell later this year. That should be the next fight. Let the winner get Beterbiev-Bivol,” said Coppinger.
It’s highly unlikely that Benavidez will agree to fight Morrell until he gets his shot at the Beterbiev vs. Bivol winner. With the money Benavidez can get fighting the winner of that fight, it’s too risky for him to face Morrell.
“I kind of get him not running into a Morrell fight because we know how good Morrell is, but he has ten professional fights, and he’s kind of been inactive. Two fights in 2023 and a couple in 2022,” said Chris Mannix, explaining why it’s not a good idea for Benavidez to face the dangerous talent David Morrell, who could ruin his momentum.
I wouldn’t label Morrell inactive if he fights twice a year. If that’s inactive, what is Terence Crawford? He’s in the running for a lucrative fight against Canelo, and he’s been fighting once a year for the last four years since 2020.
Morrell’s problem is his opposition, who hasn’t been cutting-edge. As a non-star, he’s not been able to attract the kind of high-caliber opponents that would take his career to the next level.
If Morrell had been signed to Top Rank or Matchroom, he would have fought better opposition than with PBC. He’s lanquished with them, and not gotten the fight he should have by now.
Benavidez’s best wins:
Anthony Dirrell: 38
David Lemieux: 34
Demetrius Andrade: 36
Caleb Plant
Oleksander Gvozyk: Closer than judges’ scores
Ronald Gavril
Turki Alalshikh’s Influence
“He hasn’t had the visibility to build that fight [Benavidez-Morrell] into what it should be. Really, for Benavidez, it comes down to Turki Alalshikh. He has said that he wants to see Benavidez in with the winner of Beterbiev and Bivol. If he decides to put the cash up, that’s going to make the fight happen,” said Mannix.
It’ll be up to Turki if he wants to see Benavidez face Morrell. It’s a good sign that Turki put Morrell on his Riyadh Season card on August 3rd. The logical fight that should be made is Benavidez vs. Morrell, with the winner fighting the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol victory