David Morrell: “200% Focused On Benavidez” Fight

WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell says he’s “200% focused” on his upcoming clash against WBC interim 175-lb champion David Benavidez on January 25th in Las Vegas. The fight still hasn’t been officially announced, but the January 25th date is being mentioned.

The Cuban Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) is the underdog in the minds of the fight fans due to Benavidez’s advantage in experience against notable opposition. Morrell, 26, wants to prove everyone wrong by defeating Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) in this highly anticipated match-up.

One reason people are picking Benavidez is Morrell’s lackluster performance in his debut at 175 against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3rd in Los Angeles. In that fight, Morrell showed flaws in his game.

In that fight, Morrell showed an inability to throw combinations, and looked timid when under attack by the fringe contender. However, Morrell’s punching power was top-notch and just as good as anyone in the 175-lb division, but he couldn’t finish off Kalajdzic despite hurting him several times. Morrell wound up winning a wide 12-round decision, but it wasn’t the type of effort that fans had expected.

“It was my first time at 175. That’s not an excuse. I need more work. I’m going to focus more for the next fight for my people,” said David Morrell to Fighthype when asked about the criticism he’s received from fans for his last performance against Radivoje Kalajdzic in his debut at light heavyweight on August 3rd in Los Angeles.

With the right coaching, Morrell should be able to make minor changes in his offense to defeat Benavidez because he has much better power and technical skills than he does. What Benavidez has in his favor is his combination of punching and his high output.

“No, Beterbiev 100% for this fight,” said Morrell on whether the judges got it right by giving Artur Beterbiev the victory over Dmitry Bivol last month in their undisputed light heavyweight championship on October 12th.

“No, it’s no surprise to me. You know, the fight with Berlanga and Munguia, the last two fights for Canelo, is not correct. We had Benavidez before that, and me too. We had one guy that is Cuban too, Ovarys Iglesias. There’s a lot of people to fight. So, Canelo at 175 is no surprise for me.

“The best version. I waited for this fight for a long, long time,” said Morrell about his fight against David Benavidez on January 25th. “My mentality is 200%.”