Coach Greg Hackett says David Benavidez will use his experince and body punching to defeat David Morrell on February 1st. Hackett sees this as a competitive fight for the first five rounds, with Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) looking good, but Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) will take over the fight and bust him up.
Hackett shares many people’s opinion that Benavidez has too much experience in the pros for the 26-year-old Morrell to handle.
Although Morrell has fought many times in the amateurs against better fighters than Benavidez has faced in the pros, he hasn’t had the experience of fighting longer fights. Only three of Morrell’s matches have made it to the 12th round in his five-year career.
Benavidez-Morrell will meet in 38 days at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be shown live on PBC on Prime Video PPV. Morrell will defend his WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title in his second contest at 175. Benavidez will have his WBC interim belt at stake.
Benavidez’s Aggressive Style
“He tried to smack him with his belt. That was crazy,” said Greg Hackett to YSM Sports Media about how David Morrell attempted to hit David Benavidez with his WBA belt after he shoved him at their media workout.
“They know each other is a threat, and there’s a lot riding on it. They both have something to prove because they’re in a new weight class. Some people like Morrell, and some like Benavidez. You always know this is a high-intensity fight because your trainers are turned up in camp.
“Look for a real firefight. Look for Morrell to be trying all his tricks, and look for Benavidez to be digging deep and going to that body and really trying to rip him up. I think it’s a little too early for Morrell. I’m picking Benavidez all day. I think he’s the more experienced, meaner fighter and more tested fighter,” said Hackett.
It will not be easy for Benavidez to target Morrell’s body because he moves and has a wicked left hand, making it risky for the Mexican Monster. He’ll try to go to the body, but he may be sorry for it later if he gets clipped by Morrell.
Coach Foresees ‘Dark Beating’
“Morrell is going to look good in the first five. Maybe the first three before I see it take a turn, but I say the first five, he’s [Morrell] going to look good. Then Benavidez is going to start to look more and more, looking scary. It’s going to start getting dark. It’s going to be one of those dark beatings,” said Hackett.
Morrell was at his best in the early rounds of his fight on August 3rd against ‘Hot Rod’ Radivoje Kalajdzic, but he seemed to slow down in the second half. However, Morrell still threw with power even in the championship rounds. Kalajdzic held a lot, which saved him from taking many heavy shots down the stretch.
Benavidez doesn’t hold, and his defense is his offense. Morrell can do a lot of damage against that type of fighter, and he might even knock him out if Benavidez gets careless.
Read the full article here
