David Benavidez is already planning his strategy to defeat the winner of the rematch between light heavyweight champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol on February 22nd.
‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) said he will use a different game plan and will crush Beterbiev (21-0, 21 KO) and put the pressure on Bivol.
Morel Next Glory
It's still too early to think about Benavidez facing the winner of that fight, as he has to defeat WBA 'regular' light heavyweight champion David Morrell on February 1st. In most people's minds, it's a 50-50 fight, but not with Benavidez.
He was so confident that he would have no problem defeating Morrell that he finally agreed to the fight after watching the Cuban labor against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3.
Few would give Benavidez a chance to beat Bivol or Beterbiev, but it's no surprise he believes he can beat them. That's his personality. Like many carefully matched fighters, Benavidez thinks he can beat anyone, which could be his undoing when facing Morrell.
PBC's matchmakers have been protecting Benavidez well and he was fighting in a division below his frame size until his last fight. That helped him.
“My main goal is to beat David Morrell and then go up and face the next guy,” David Benavidez said. Sean Zittel About his immediate goals for February 1st. I think we were first [with the WBC] Beterbiev-Bivol is in position to fight the winner. So if that's the case, I'm 100% ready too.
“These big fights have allowed me to build my brand more and more. It’s similar to Canelo’s career. He was going up and jumping louder. [named] fighter. I don't care if I don't get the Canelo fight. I'm really happy with my career and the opportunities I get. Now it just proves that I am the best in the world, no matter what weight class.
“It’s a shame people are missing out on a great game.” Benavidez said, still talking about Canelo's fight. “We’re here to give people a good fight.”
Benavidez should have forgotten about Canelo years ago. Because he made it clear to everyone that he would never get the chance. If Benavidez had given up a long time ago, he could have moved to light heavyweight or cruiserweight and won a world title by now.
Box Betterbiev, pressure Bivol
“They are iron champions in their weight classes,” Benavidez said of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. “Beterbiev is a strong man. He's like a tank trying to take you down but has room to be outboxed. Honestly, I thought Bivol beat him. I thought Bivol beat him, I thought Bivol beat him convincingly. “Only then can we beat that player,” he said.
Benavidez is not a professional referee, so his opinion that Bivol deserved the win over Beterbiev in their October 12 fight is meaningless. However, he said before the match that he was already biased because he thought Bivol would win. Beterbiev won under pressure and the judges had already made their decision.
Bivol is the best boxer in the 175-pound division, but failed to outbox Beterbiev. If Bivol can't do it, a volume puncher like Benavidez won't either. He's not a great boxer, and he's not going to change the way he fights after 11 years in the pros. Benavidez is a finished product. If he were to fight Beterbiev, he would use his high-powered style like he always has and that would be disastrous for him. He'll be another Callum Smith, but without the power.
“With Bivol, you have to put more pressure on him and throw more combinations,” Benavidez said. “You can’t just throw left hooks and right hooks. You have to be really intelligent about your combinations. So we both have to fight in different ways, but whoever we fight, we have to be 100% ready. I will definitely be ready and it will be an amazing fight with both of them.”
Benavidez had sparred with Bivol before and it was rumored that he had the better of him. But if that were true, it would be a sparring, not a fight. Bivol will be a problem for Benavidez in a real fight, as he doesn't practice as much as he does during sparring sessions.
Why Morel now?
“That’s why I took this fight. [David Morrell] No problem because I was waiting for it. [to fight the Beterbiev vs. Bivol winner]I thought because I was the number one contender [with WBC]That fight ended the way it did, so you have to give the rematch the respect it deserves,” Benavidez said.
It wasn't until David Morrell looked less than impressive in his last fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3 that Benavidez wanted to fight him. Before that fight, neither Benavidez nor his father Jose Benavidez Sr. had anything to do with Morrell. You probably saw his weaknesses and decided, ‘I think he’s perfect.’
“So they gave me a few different names and I was like, ‘Gosh, I’m not interested in that fight. I want a big fight, and if we can’t get a big guy, we’ll have a big fight with a guy who wears the belt and swears a lot,” Benavidez said about why he did it. The decision was made to fight Morrell.
The timing of Benavidez's decision to fight Morrell is questionable. It came on the heels of the first unimpressive performance of his five-year career. Benavidez didn't raise his hand to fight Morrell when he destroyed Sena Agbeko or Yamaguchi Falcao.
“So this is the route we took. This is a fight people have wanted to see for a long time. So I think now is the best time to make a fight happen between me and Morrell. It's just my mindset that I'm ready to fight as hard as I can. I don't care who it is. I am 100% ready to fight anyone. No,” Benavidez said.
2024-12-27 01:28:06
Benavidez targets Beterbiev and Bivol after Morrell.
