By: Sean Crose
IIt all seemed to have gone beyond pre fight hype. Light heavyweight power houses David Benavidez, 29-0, and David Morrell, 11-0, truly seemed to not like each other. Perhaps it was a simple clash of personalities. Or maybe their scheduled Saturday night pay per view main event had too much on the line for either man to see his opponent as being anything less than a stone cold enemy. Either way, the 29 year old Benavidez and the 27 year old Morrell entered the ring in Los Vegas on Saturday ready for war.
The first round saw each man having his moments. Morrell was faster, but Benavidez was able to land thudding body shots. The second was a heavy handed affair. Morrell tried showboating at the end but Benavidez had landed the stronger punches. The third had some blistering moments but Morrell’s output may have made the difference on the judge’s cards. The fourth round was explosive. Benavidez’ attack seemed to be wearing Morrell down, but in the final seconds of the round, Morrell landed and landed hard. The fifth, though, seemed to go to the relentless Benavidez. By the sixth it was clear that, while Morrell was firing off some good bursts, Benavidez’ thudding attack was telling the tale.
The seventh saw Morrell taking a lot of punches. He was in a real fight and his bruised face was starting to show it. Morrell had a good round for himself in the eighth but he looked like he was being thrashed. Could Morrell maintain his momentum? Morrell went on to have a good ninth. Yet Benavidez’ high guard defense was making him less apt to be hurt by Morrell. At the end of the tenth it was Benavidez who was showboating. Morrell’s punches simply weren’t impacting the Arizona native.
Things got wild in the eleventh. Benavidez went down, but got up quickly. Things got even wilder when Morrell lost a point for hitting after the bell. The final round was a war of attrition where both men had their moments. The unanimous decision, however, went to Benavidez. Suffice to say a post fight embrace drained away the bad blood between the two combatants. “I just want to be the best in my era,” Benavidez said in the post fight interview.
It must be said, Benavidez is now one of the most entertaining fighters in the game…and perhaps one oof the best in the sport.
