Former two-division world champion Antonio Tarver believes David Morrell may need a knockout for him to defeat WBC interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez in eight days on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
If Benavidez bum-rushes Morrell like he does all his opponents, he could get knocked out by the Cuban talent in the first round.
Morrell has a lot more power and technical ability for Benavidez to fight in the primitive style that he’d grown accustomed to from his weight bully days of overpowering fossils at 168. Benavidez’s career has been built on weak matchmaking and him fighting well below his huge cruiserweight size.
Tarver feels that Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) has too much size and professional experience for the former Cuban amateur star Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) to overcome without knocking him out. Benavidez’s output will make it difficult for Morrell to win a decision if he’s getting outlanded by a wide margin in this fight.
Benavidez’s habit of throwing a lot of shots could be his downfall in this fight because he puts his chin on the line and gets hit a lot. He depends on his output to drown his opponent, which has worked because he’s fought mostly smaller fighters during the 11 years he fought at 168.
Morrell is a bigger puncher than the guys that Benavidez has fought, and he’s going to be a knockout threat in this fight. He will have many opportunities to hurt Benavidez because he’s so accustomed to fighting older, smaller fighters. He’s only fought one guy his size, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and was really hammered by that fighter. He was hurt to the body by Gvozdyk.
Knockout Needed?
“I think Morrell needed one or two more tests to be able to handle the ability, the power and the confidence that David Benavidez comes to the table with,” said Antonio Tarver on his YouTube channel, TarversTake on the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell fight in eight days on February 1st.
“I think David Morrell is going to have to find that shot that not only drops but concuss. He’s got to knock David Benavidez out. There are sometimes fighters you can make quit. I don’t think either one of these fighters you can make quit.
“Sometimes you got to knock them out, and I feel this is one of those types of fights where in order to secure victory, one of these guys is going to have to end it inside the distance. David Benavidez is going to have a little reach and size advantage [correction: 6’1″ Morrell has four inch reach advantage. 6’2′ Benavidez is one inch taller, and might be heavier].”
It sounds like Tarver has drunk the Kool-Aid, buying into the same stuff that other Benavidez fans have said about him. If you shut out the junk Benavidez’s followers are saying about him and look closely at his A. massive size and B. the smaller, older opposition he’d been beating, you’d see that he’s just a typical weight bully.
“I think this will be one of the more gifted fighters that Benavidez has faced,” said Tarver. “Morrell comes in with a lot of talent. The experience. Guys like Caleb Plant, those type of fighters that Benavidez has faced. The light heavyweight [Oleksandr Gvozdyk] that he [fought] was very tough.”
You can’t give Benavidez’s hype for beating Caleb Plant because Canelo Alvarez did a far better job beating him than he did. Plant won the first five rounds against Benavidez and fought him close just on skills. Canelo dominated Plant and knocked him out.
You could hype up Benavidez if Plant had power and if he hadn’t been knocked out by Canelo before fighting him. He didn’t do a better job beating Plant than Canelo and lost almost all of the first six rounds. He got exposed by Plant. If that’s what you’re going to gauge Benavidez and use as your rationale for him beating Morrell, you’re not thinking clearly.
Body Attack Key
“He didn’t knock him out, but he was able to go the distance,”said Morrell about Benavidez’s fight against Gvozdyk. “If you think who can stop who, I think David Benavidez with that body attack. If he can focus on that early and have some success, it really helps him down the stretch. Morrell doesn’t employ a consistent body attack. I think most of that, he’s head-hunting.
“When you make the transition from amateur to pro, it’s sitting down on those punches and having that body attack. That’s why I would advise any fighter to invest in that body. If you see one of these guys going downstairs early on, look for that guy to have his hand raised.
“You’re going to have to take chances when you go to the body. You have to be conscious enough to know when you’re in safe quarters. You can’t be in there with your hands down when you try to rip to the body, not with either one of these guys. Both of these guys are great counter-punchers,” said Tarver.
