Sunday Convo: David Benavidez Hosts ‘Monster’s Ball’

The whole buildup for this fight was based on the bad blood between the two fighters, which led to scuffles and the exchange of pleasantries throughout their media obligations. When the bell rang for the opening round, Benavidez and Morrell wasted no time and tried to deliver the pound of flesh they promised to the fans throughout fight week. The thing that most noticed immediately was that there wasn’t much size difference, which was new for Benavidez, who typically looks bigger than his opponents. We had a real fight on our hands, and Morrell showed no fear of the “Mexican Monster” as he blew him a kiss at the end of the opening round to signify that he was comfortable on this big stage.

Although Benavidez was winning most of the rounds early on, Morrell had a way of keeping him honest with short, accurate shots, with one of those punches buckling Benavidez during the first half of the fight. Benavidez recovered quickly, showing he was in tremendous shape but the Morrell backers felt like that would be the momentum shift their guy needed. The problem is that when Benavidez gets going, he’s like an avalanche and Morrell found that out the hard way. Benavidez landed hard left uppercuts and straight right hands that consistently pierced through Morrell’s guard.

As much as Morrell was taking punishment, credit to him for not quitting and firing back more than expected. He could have gone the route of not taking risks, knowing he had already lost the fight, as seen by Jermell Charlo and Edgar Berlanga in their fights against Canelo Alvarez. Instead, Morrell used his clever footwork to position himself for clean counterattacks when Benavidez was off balance.

When entering the championship rounds, Morrell’s trainer, Ronnie Shields, told his fighter that he needed a knockout to win the fight. In the eleventh round, Morrell caught Benavidez with a short right hook that sent the Mexican Monster down to the canvas for only the second time in his career. As the round came to a close, Benavidez was on the attack, and when the bell rang, he hit Morrell again, prompting Morrell to hit Benavidez. The referee only acknowledged the punch thrown by Morrell after the round, so he immediately deducted a point from him. So, instead of a 10-8 round for Morrell, it ended up being a 9-8 one. During the last round, both fighters acted like it was the first round and fought like warriors all the way to the final bell.

Once again, Benavidez showed why he is highly regarded by fans and media alike. He’s a warrior who talks the talk and walks the walk. Regardless of who he faces next, fans will tune in to the next Monster’s Ball event.

David Benavidez vs. The Winner of Beterbiev-Bivol 2?

After the fight, Benavidez was asked about his potential next opponent and instead of calling out Canelo Alvarez for the umpteenth time, he decided to keep it focused on the champion in the light heavyweight division. The undisputed champion right now is Artur Beterbiev, and he has a rematch against Dmitry Bivol on February 22. Benavidez has mentioned that he’s been promised the winner of that fight, but he’s been there before with the Canelo situation where it didn’t pan out, so only time will tell.

If Benavidez must have an interim fight before getting the Beterbiev-Bivol winner, a fight against Anthony Yarde wouldn’t be so bad in the UK, and that can further expand the ever-growing profile of Benavidez.

The light heavyweight division is thin with regard to top-quality opponents, so it’ll be interesting to see if Benavidez can get the big fight he’s been wanting, which is an opportunity at the undisputed crown, but this time at 175.