Coach Kenny Ellis believes David Benavidez will “overwhelm” David Morrell with size and break him down in the later rounds. Ellis believes Benavidez will become more formidable as the tours go on.
Interim WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and WBA “regular” champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) meet in 15 Days on PBC on Prime Video PPV on February 1 at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas Vegas.
Ellis expects that Benavidez won’t take long to discover Morell like Caleb Plant because he’s a better boxer. Plant looked very small in the ring compared to the larger, lighter, heavy Benavidez, and had no ability to force him back.
Morel power
“As long as Morell’s belt didn’t hit Benavidez. Those belts are so heavy and they could cause a bad gash if they hit you right, and it would have postponed the whole damn fight,” trainer Kenny Ellis said. Mill City Boxingtalks about David Morrell throwing the WBA “regular” light heavyweight belt to David Benavidez after he shoved him during their confrontation in media training in Miami on December 17.
“In that fight, David Morrell has the one-punch knockout power where he can catch Benavidez. I just think ‘The Mexican Monster’ is going to overwhelm him with everything. He’s going to break him down because the Mexican Monster is getting stronger and stronger as the rounds go on.”
“He’s got a great punch of his own, but I can’t see Morell out-performing him because he won’t have that space to set it up. He won’t pause between punches to set it up, because once the Mexican monster gets going, he’ll keep you uncomfortable. He won’t let you,” Ellis said. You can prepare anything.
Benavidez pushed Morell in the media drill, throwing his belt at him. It wasn’t as if Morrell threw away his belt for no reason. He did so because Benavidez pushed him too hard when he refused to shake his hand.
Morel can box, but he will have to go to war with Benavidez because he will chase him around the ring. This can work to Morrell’s advantage as he likes to move and then stop to land powerful punches against his incoming opponents. He caught them as they walked forward. If Benavidez was hit by a hard bullet, he could be knocked unconscious.
“It’s a possibility,” Ellis said when asked if Morell might hit Benavidez so hard that the volume of his punches isn’t as high as usual because he’ll fear the Cuban will hit him. “Anything can happen, but I’m rocking the ‘Mexican Monster’.”
It is doubtful that Benavidez will change his usual style of burying his opponents with activity if Morell hits him hard. If he focuses on throwing at the Mexican Monster’s head, it won’t work because he has excellent resistance to punches. However, I have never seen Benavidez get hit so hard by a fighter with elite power.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk had a lot of power, but he didn’t throw enough power punches. He was mostly pressing his shots, trying not to get tired and focusing on boxing. This style allowed Benavidez to build a significant lead over eight rounds. It was too late when Gvozdyk finally entered the championship rounds, and he needed a knockout. This is the only real puncher Benavidez has fought other than David Lemieux, who was old and over the hill when they fought.
“I like Muriel, though. I guess [Caleb] Blunt is a better boxer than Morel. I don’t think it will take long for Benavidez to understand him, support him and do what he does. At the same time, Morel has the power of one hit that can change things and slow things down. “But I’m rocking ‘Mexican Monster,'” Ellis said.
Caleb Plante tried to fight Benavidez on the inside, taking a lot of punishment in the second half of the fight. Early on, Caleb did well, getting the better of him during the fifth round. Muriel Benavidez won’t fight on the inside, but if he does, he showed in his fight against Hot Rod that he has tremendous power on the inside.
