By Manny Delgado: David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) completely outclassed David Morrell (11-1,9 KOs) in a nearly one-sided beatdown Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, proving he is the better of the two David’s.
That’s not to take anything away from Morrell who oftentimes looked as if he was ready to get taken out of there but held on with an impressive chin and fired back with combinations of his own, occasionally pushing the pace.
The majority of fan predictions were that this fight would end in a knockout in favor of Benavidez. Very few saw the possibility of Morrell lasting the distance despite his one-punch KO power. This could easily be attributed to Morrell simply not having as many fans, but he did, in fact, survive. He even turned up the pace in the last two rounds, in which he knocked down Benavidez in the 11th round. Arguably, it was a flash knockdown but one that startled ‘The Mexican Monster’ nonetheless.
However, this round advantage was quickly erased with a point deduction when Morrell punched Benavidez after the bell. It was a heated exchange where a fired-up Benavidez unloaded a relentless, long combination. Morrell, with clouded judgment, was only responding in kind out of anger and frustration, but he did so too late. It may have been el Monstruo’s world Saturday night, but Morrell proved he has massive potential, and it was simply due to a lack of experience that the fight was consistently as one-sided as it was.
Benavidez’s Relentless Pressure
Benavidez may not be an elite fighter like Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol, but his high-level, relentless pressure was too much for the inexperienced Cuban to handle. Morrell would practically allow Benavidez to unload full-on combinations, which is where Benavidez shines, his engine revving up more and more the more punches he unloads.
Morrell was eating some solid shots in the process before firing back at the end of Benavidez’s combinations with his own. Benavidez went as far as repeatedly pulling his guard down and finding a home to land his loaded-up left hooks.
On occasion, Morrell would even counter in between some of Benavidez’s punches, but it wasn’t enough to deter Benavidez from continuing to apply his come-forward pressure.
Morrell’s Potential
Morrell is a decent counter-puncher. However, as a fight fan not favoring either fighter and simply enjoying a good fight, it was frustrating not seeing him leverage his counterpunching abilities to interrupt the flow of Benavidez’s combinations. He showed signs he could’ve by doing so occasionally, but not often enough.
He was far too intimidated by the output and combinations of Benavidez to do so, becoming gun-shy in the process. Admittedly, that is easier said than done. His lack of experience, with only 11 professional fights before Benavidez, you could say was a contributing factor. Morrell, having never fought someone with Benavidez’s style, was another contributing factor.
If the 11th and 12th rounds were any sign of the potential fight we could have had instead, then you could effectively say it would have been an entirely different fight that would have either been much closer on the scorecards or a clear victory for Morrell. Meaning, had Morrell established his presence the way he did as opposed to his passive defensive approach with occasional bursts.
The final scorecards read 115-111, 115-111, and 118-108 in favor of Benavidez by unanimous decision. He successfully retained his WBC interim belt and won the WBA title. Morrell employed what many fight fans considered a bad game plan. Nonetheless, it was an extremely entertaining fight that lived up to the hype. Morrell undoubtedly earned himself many new fans last night and proved that, despite his lack of experience, he is a name to watch.
