If there’s anyone out there still not sold on David Benavidez and his status as a legitimate modern day boxing star, I’d like for them to take a walk to the nearest bathroom, stick their head in the toilet, and flush repeatedly.
Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the 28-year-old Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) showed us what an in-his-prime elite-level fighter looks like when he decisioned the formerly undefeated David Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) to claim some phony-baloney WBA and WBC regular or interim light heavyweight titles and, more important, next-dibs claim to the winner of Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol 2 (more on that later).
The Benavidez-Morrell clash, which headlined a pretty entertaining PBC/Amazon Prime pay-per-view show, showcased the guts and grit and ego you’d expect from a bout between proud, young, undefeated talents with more future ahead of them than past behind them.Benavidez did what Benavidez does. He applied pressure throughout the bout, landing big shots, but also touching with smaller shots in an offensive mix and a sneaky variation of space, pace, and placement that makes him hard to defend against. He was especially effective with the uppercut, which was a bit of a surprise against a tall, long opponent who could account well for himself on the outside.
However, also true to form, Benavidez faded late and left open a window of opportunity for Morrell, who had seemed a bit outclassed by the late middle rounds.
To his credit, though, Morrell never gave up and never stopped trying to find a way to win.
The Cuban-born, Miami-residing, Minneapolis-adopted 27-year-old fought bravely and competently, never resigning himself to defeat, even in the midst of Benavidez’s brutally best moments. He never conceded anything, at any point, and rallied back throughout the contest.
In the eleventh, Morrell would manage to score a flukish knockdown, but then give that point back after being penalized by referee Thomas Taylor for hitting Benavidez after the bell.
Ultimately, the point deduction wouldn’t matter as scorecard tallies of 115-111 (twice) and 118-108 declared Benavidez the winner via unanimous decision.
And now for the future…
It may have been telling that the post-fight interview conducted on the PBC telecast steered clear of mentioning Beterbiev or Bivol directly.
Despite being declared next in line for a light heavyweight title shot by the WBC and getting a Ring Magazine-publicized first-row invitation by Turki Alalshikh to Beterbiev-Bivol 2 in Saudi Arabia February 22, there still has to be some doubt as to whether Benavidez-Beterbiev/Bivol happens next or happens at all.
First, there’s no guarantee that Bivol won’t beat Beterbiev and force a Riyadh Season rubber match with his fellow Russian.Second, no matter what happens on February 22, there’s a real possibility that putting together a Benavidez-Beterbiev/Bivol bout could hit a brick wall.
At this point, both Russians are pretty much Saudi house fighters who, one would assume, Turki would like to keep as in-house talent. And, unless the Saudis are willing to pay Benavidez and company an obscene amount of money (a possibility), it makes no business sense for Benavidez to kill off his status as a growing bonafide PPV headliner presence by fighting the toughest fight of his career on a stale afternoon show that’ll generate a fraction of the buys/revenue it would generate if held in the States.
Sorry. Yeah. Boxing is still a business, even if some are treating it as a nifty fantasy league hobby. Benavidez vs. Beterbiev/Bivol belongs in Las Vegas.
If that big one happens, though, there will be some competitive concerns.
Will Benavidez look like a boy vs. a man against either? He’s never faced someone as stone-mountain strong or as imposing as Beterbiev, nor has he faced anyone as razor-sharp precise and technically perfect as Bivol. For all his positives, there are also some negatives that may point to him struggling in bouts with either.
But that’s why young fighters come up. It’s the nature of the boxing beast for the new guard to have to prove they are worthy of greatness by toppling the old guard. Unless you’re in Canelo Alvarez’s world, of course…
We’ll just have to wait and see if Beterbiev’s/Bivol’s world isn’t similar to Canelo’s. If it IS, we’ve learned that Benavidez doesn’t necessarily need THE belt to put on good shows against meaningful opposition.
Nobody (worth listening to) would complain all that loud if his run through Demetrius Andrade, Caleb Plant, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and David Morrell extends through Callum Smith, Anthony Yarde, Joshua Buatsi, and into the cruiserweight division.In a perfect world, Beterbiev beats Bivol and defends his four light heavyweight belts against Benavidez in a Las Vegas blockbuster (which Benavidez will carry, promotionally). In an ultra-perfect world, Benavidez BEATS Beterbiev– maybe after Crawford beats Canelo– and we get an anchor on the American scene to keep the big fights where the big fan base (and actual, real business revenue) is.
We’ll see how all this plays out.
For now, I’m happy just basking in the glow of a damn good fight from a damn good fighter.
Got something for Magno? Send it here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com
