Undefeated boxing star David Benavidez hasn’t given up on his yearslong quest to land a massive fight against Canelo Alvarez.
He’s just decided to take an alternate route, even if that involves a treacherous road littered with dangerous obstacles.
The plan for Benavidez (29-0, 24 knockouts) to finally lure Alvarez into a fight begins with a bout against rising star David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs), who also has been holding out hope of drawing the golden ticket to be Alvarez’s next opponent.
Benavidez, 28, thinks if he defeats Morrell in the light heavyweight title fight on Saturday’s pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena, he will be in line to fight the winner of a Feb. 22 bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Once Benavidez consolidates all the belts and eliminates the options in several weight classes, Alvarez will have no choice but to finally fight Benavidez. At least that’s the plan.
But Morrell, 27, could be plotting a similar path, as both fighters moved from 168 pounds to 175 because Alvarez put an artificial ceiling on the division by declining to fight either of them. Morrell believes Benavidez has bitten off more than he can chew by accepting the bout.
“Everyone he has faced so far has been either on the brink of retirement or has had to come up or come down in weight,” Morrell said. “I want to end that myth that he’s a monster.”
Benavidez, a Las Vegas resident nicknamed ‘The Mexican Monster’ by Mike Tyson, scoffs at the claims. But he does concede that Morrell is a difficult challenge, especially for someone who was a backup plan.
“It makes me laugh,” Benavidez said. “I’ve been working with champions since I was 14. I’ve beat better fighters than him. I’ve been on a run beating only top-level guys for more than two years. I’m used to this.
“At the end of the day, I’m not the kind of person who’s scared of a hard fight, because that’s what brings the best out of me. I’m expecting a good fight, but I’m expecting to make him look average because I’ve been doing that since I was 14 with all the great fighters I’ve been in there against. That’s when the beast comes out.”
Both coming off decision wins
Benavidez hopes to present a better version of himself than he did in June when he moved up from super middleweight and beat Oleksandr Gvozdyk by unanimous decision to win the interim WBC belt. He was impressive, but it wasn’t the kind of spectacular performance he normally delivers.
Morrell also settled for a decision victory in his August light heavyweight debut against Radivoje Kalajdzic.
The Cuban-born Minneapolis resident promises a different result Saturday.
“I will 100 percent knock him out,” Morrell said.
Benavidez isn’t buying it, surmising the explosive moments between the two during the promotional tour and Thursday’s final news conference are covering up the anxiety Morrell is feeling about being in the spotlight of a pay-per-view main event for the first time.
“He’s all talk,” Benavidez said. “He’s felt strong against fighters who were bums. Now he feels my energy, and he knows I’m not playing with him. He got me all riled up and brought ‘The Monster’ out. Now he knows he’s … going to have to pay for everything.”
Benavidez taking a risk
Oddsmakers don’t see Benavidez as an overwhelming favorite. Morrell was a slight underdog until the market pushed Benavidez to about a -200 favorite in recent days.
So it was a true risk for Benavidez to accept the bout. But he said that even though he doesn’t care for Morrell, he didn’t want to deny him an opportunity in much the same way he accuses Alvarez of doing to him.
Benavidez might find out Saturday if his gamble pays off.
“Greatness isn’t given; it’s earned,” Benavidez said. “That’s why I’ve tried to get the biggest fights and the hardest fights, because that puts me in the driver’s seat and (gets) the respect of the fans, which means more to me than anything. I want this to be the David Benavidez era, and I’m backing up all my words.”
The 5 p.m. pay-per-view broadcast on Prime Video also features former featherweight champ Stephen Fulton Jr. (22-1) challenging WBC champ Brandon Figueroa (25-1-1) in a rematch of a spectacular 2021 bout won by Fulton by majority decision.
Also, former world super lightweight champ Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-3-1) will meet Angel Fierro (23-2-2).
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
Up next
Who: David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) vs. David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs)
What: Benavidez’s interim WBC light heavyweight belt and Morrell’s WBA title
When: 5 p.m. main card; 3 p.m. prelims
Where: T-Mobile Arena
TV: Prime Video PPV
Line: Benavidez -225; will go distance -200
