Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith worries that David Benavidez will get injured because he stands in front of his opponents, doesn't move and doesn't use head movements. Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) positions himself in front of his opponent and lets go of his hands.
WBC interim light heavyweight champion Benavidez could be injured in his next fight against him David Morrell Feb. 1 in their 12-round bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas live on Main video.
If Benavidez is knocked out in this fight, he will have to decide whether to try to move back down to 168 or stay at 175 and be content with being a contender and not a world champion.
Morrell is as big as Benavidez, but much stronger, faster and more technically gifted. He came from a Cuban boxing school and didn't learn all of Benavidez's bad habits over the years of fighting lesser opposition.
Smith is a huge fan of Benavidez, and he still seems to have his head around Canelo Alvarez, who is due to fight him. That fight won't happen. They are now in different divisions, and Canelo ends his career at 168.
Benavidez, 28, developed a style that suited him because he was bigger than his opponents, fighting at a weight class below his frame for 11 years at 168 before finally moving up to 175.
In his debut at 175 against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15, we witnessed Benavidez's frequent strikes. Moving forward, he won't be able to score knockouts like he did when he was fighting smaller fighters at 168.
“I'm a big fan of David Benavidez. I love Canelo too, but I don't like the fact that it's taking Canelo so long to match him,” Stephen A. Smith told Sean Zittel channel. “I salute David Benavidez because he doesn't let anyone down and is ready to fight at any moment.
“He is the 'Mexican Monster.' Sometimes I wonder if someone will hurt him because he is there in front of them. He's not moving, but he clearly shows that he can take a punch, and he can certainly throw it with either hand,” Smith continued of Benavidez.
“He has speed, strength, boxing ability and heart. I don't know if there is a bigger fan of David Benavidez than me. I really liked his skills and I want to see him on the big stage,” said Smith.
Stephen A. is a casual boxing fan, not the die-hard kind, who follows the sport closely. So he doesn't realize that Benavidez is no longer in Canelo's orbit. He also seems unaware that Benavidez has never fought elite-level opposition to earn his moniker 'Mexican Monster' in the true sense of the word. He was essentially a bully fighting older, smaller veterans.
Handling incident
“Benavidez messed up trying to shake his hand. Those Cuban boys have a playful attitude, but they really hate it when they think somebody thinks they can beat them,” coach Greg Hackett said on YSM Sports mediatalking about today's fight.
After everything Benavidez said about Morrell, there was no way he was shaking hands with him during today's bout in Miami. Benavidez shouldn't have even tried to shake Morrell's hand because he was asking for trouble.
“When Benavidez came up to him and tried to shake his hand, he shouldn't have done that. Morrell said: 'No, we're not on that. We will rumble. All that sh*** you talked about me, and now you want to shake my hand?'”
