Coach Kenny Ellis believes David Benavidez will “overwhelm” David Morrell with volume and break him down in the later rounds. Ellis believes Benavidez will become more formidable as the rounds go on.
WBC interim light heavyweight champion Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and WBA “regular” champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) will meet in 15 days on PBC on Prime Video PPV on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las. Las Vegas.
Ellis predicts that Benavidez won’t take as long to understand Morrell as Caleb Plant because he is a better boxer. Plant looked too small in the ring compared to the much taller, lighter and heavier Benavidez, and he didn’t have the power to back him down.
The power of Morrell
“As long as Morrell’s belt didn’t touch Benavidez.” These belts are extremely heavy and can cause an extreme gash if they hit you correctly, which would have postponed the whole damn fight,” trainer Kenny Ellis told MillCity Boxingspeaking about David Morrell throwing his “regular” WBA light heavyweight belt to David Benavidez after being shoved by him during their confrontation at media training in Miami on December 17.
“In this fight, David Morrell has that one-punch knockout power where he can catch, and he can catch Benavidez. I just think “The Mexican Monster” is going to overwhelm him with everything. He’s going to break him because the Mexican monster gets stronger and stronger as the rounds go on.
“He’s got a good punch himself, but I can’t see Morrell sending it because he won’t have that space to set it up. He won’t have that break between punches to prepare him, because once the Mexican monster starts. it will make you uncomfortable. He won’t let you organize anything,” Ellis said.
Benavidez pushed Morrell during media practice, so he threw his belt at him. It wasn’t like Morrell threw away his belt for no reason. He did it because Benavidez pushed him hard when he refused to shake his hand.
Morrell knows how to box, but he will be forced to go to war with Benavidez because he will chase him around the ring. This could work in Morrell’s favor as he likes to move and then stop to throw hard punches against his opponents. He catches up with them as they move forward. If he hits Benavidez with a hard blow, he could knock him out.
“It’s a possibility,” Ellis said when asked if Morrell might hit Benavidez so hard that his punching volume won’t be as high as it usually is because he’ll be afraid of being touched by the Cuban. “Anything can happen, but I’m a fan of the “Mexican Monster.” »
Benavidez is unlikely to change his usual approach of actively burying his opponents if Morrell hits him hard. If he focuses on throwing at the head of the “Mexican Monster”, it will not work because he has excellent resistance to hits. However, I had never seen Benavidez get hit so hard by a fighter with elite power.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk had great power, but he didn’t throw enough hard punches. He mostly pushed his punches, tried not to get tired and focused on boxing. This style allowed Benavidez to build up a huge lead through eight rounds. It was too late when Gvozdyk finally came into play in the championship rounds and he needed a knockout. He’s the only real puncher Benavidez has fought, other than David Lemieux, who was old and over the hill when they fought.
“I like Morrell, though. I think [Caleb] Plant is a better boxer than Morrell. I don’t think it will take that long for Benavidez to understand him, support him and do what he does. At the same time, Morrell has this unique power that can change things and slow them down. But I love “The Mexican Monster,” Ellis said.
Caleb Plant tried to fight Benavidez on the inside and took a lot of punishment in the second half of the fight. At first, Caleb did well and got the better of him until the fifth. Morrell isn’t going to fight Benavidez on the inside, but if he does, he showed in his fight with Hot Rod that he has tremendous power on the inside.
