David Benavidez says he would be open to fighting Oleksandr Usyk, but would rather wait “five or six years” before confronting him. He thinks he needs “more experience” before the fight with heavyweight champion Usyko (23-0, 12 KOs). Oleksandr will not wait for Benavidez. If he lacks the confidence to fight him now, that fight won't happen.
Usyk waits: 5-6 years
Benavidez says he might still take the fight if offered. He admits it would be one of the most difficult of his career, which is an understatement.
Usyk is very skilled and would take advantage of Benavidez's habit of leaving himself open for the count due to his punching volume. The 'Mexican-Ecuadorian-American Monster' Benavidez didn't have to change his fighting style as he fought smaller guys while campaigning at 168 for the first ten years of his career.
In his recent debut at 175, he took plenty of hard shots against Oleksandr Gvozdyk when the latter tried to overwhelm him with volume, and his face looked like it had been run over by a tractor trailer by the end of the 12-round contest. .
If Benavidez were to move up to heavyweight or cruiserweight to face Usyka, he wouldn't be able to use volume against him without being picked apart and embarrassed. This style only works against smaller or weaker fighters.
In 39 days, Benavidez will face WBA' regular champion David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) on February 22nd at PPB on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
This is a fight that will show what kind of figure Benavidez has in the 175 lb division. If he can't beat Morrell, he might have to go back to 168 if he can because he'll only do worse against the other killers at 175.
“I'm going to hurt David Morrell”
“Anyone watching this fight is going to have a good time watching this. I'm coming 100% ready,” said David Benavidez Fighthypetalking about his February 22nd contest against 'regular' WBA light heavyweight champion David Morrell in Las Vegas.
“I have been training for almost four and a half months. I will leave no stone unturned and I am very motivated for this fight. Not just going in there for a win, but a knockout. I'm going to go in there and hurt David Morrell.
“I'm going to make him eat all his words, and when I knock him out and take the belt from him, he'll know who's the best in the world,” Benavidez said.
With Morrell's power in both hands, he has an excellent opportunity to knock out Benavidez in this fight if he fights the way he has been doing. Morrell punches too hard and will knock out Benavidez just like he did to Sena Agbeko and Yamaguchi Falcão. Those guys had excellent beards in the Morrell fight, but he cut them down quickly.
“I don't think I have enough experience to go against Usyk,” Benavidez said when asked if he would like to fight Oleksandr Usyk. “Never say never. Maybe in the future, but right now I'm just focused on those guys. Maybe in five or six years, but by that time he'll probably be around 40 (try 42 or 43),” Benavidez said of Usyk.
“I have enormous respect for Usyk. He is the greatest of all time. If I have the opportunity to share the ring with him, I won't say no, but it will probably be the hardest fight I've had in my entire life,” said Benavidez.
It sounds weak on Benavidez's part to talk about needing more experience before the Usyka fight, as he has enough professional experience to handle this fight. Besides, he is almost ten years younger than him.
