David Benavidez is already planning his strategy for defeating the winner of the Feb. 22 rematch between undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivolo.
'Mexican Monster' Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) says he will use a different game plan for each of them and that he will box Beterbiev (21-0, 21 KOs) and apply pressure against Bivolo.
Morrell Then Glory
It is still too early for Benavidez to consider facing the winner of that fight as he still has to defeat WBA 'regular' light heavyweight champion David Morrell on February 1st. It's a 50-50 fight in most people's minds, but not in Benavidez's.
He is extremely confident that he will have no problem beating Morrell, so he finally agreed to the fight after watching the Cuban work against Radivoj Kalajdžić on August 3rd.
Few people give Benavidez any chance of beating Bivol or Beterbiev, but it's no surprise that he believes he can beat them. That's his personality. Like many carefully matched fighters, Benavidez thinks he can beat anyone, which could be his undoing when he goes up against Morrell.
Benavidez was well protected by his associates in the PBC, and he fought underweight until his last fight. That helped him.
“My main goal is to beat David Morrell and then go and face whoever is next,” said David Benavidez Sean Zittel about his immediate goal for February 1st. I think we were ranked No. 1 (with the WBC) in the spot to fight the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol. So, if that's the case, I'm 100% ready for that too.
“With these big fights, I can build my brand more and more. It's kind of like Canelo's career. He went up and beat bigger (named) fighters. If I don't win that Canelo fight, I really don't care. I'm really happy with my career and the opportunities I'm getting. Now I'm just proving that I'm the best in the world regardless of weight class.
“I feel bad for people because people are missing out on a great fight,” Benavidez said, still talking about the Canelo fight. “That's why we're here, to give people good fights.”
Benavidez should have forgotten about Canelo years ago because he made it clear to everyone that he would never get a chance. If Benavidez had given up a long time ago, he could have moved up to light heavyweight or cruiserweight by now and maybe won a world title.
Box Beterbiev, Pressure Bivol
“They're the iron champs in the weight class,” Benavidez said of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitri Bivol. “Beterbiev is strong, he is coming in. He is like a tank that tries to knock you out, but has room to be outboxed. Honestly, I thought Bivol beat him. I thought Bivol beat him and I thought Bivol beat him convincingly. That's how you can beat that fighter.”
Benavidez is not a professional referee, so his opinion that Bivol deserved to beat Beterbiev in their Oct. 12 head-to-head bout is meaningless. But before their fight, he said that he thought Bivol would win, so he already had prejudices. Beterbiev won under pressure, and the judges have already made a decision.
Bivol is the best boxer in the category up to 175 pounds, but he was unable to outbox Beterbiev. If Bivol couldn't do it, neither can a volume drill like Benavidez. He is not a great boxer and will not be able to change the way he fights after 11 years in the professional game. Benavidez is a finished product. If he does fight Beterbiev, he will use the same high impact style he always has, and that would be a disaster for him. He would be another Callum Smith, but without the power.
“With Bivola, you have to pressure him more and throw a lot more combinations,” Benavidez said. “You can't just throw left and right crotches. You have to be very intelligent with your combinations. So you both have to fight in two ways, but whoever we fight, we have to be 100% ready. I would definitely be ready and it would be an amazing fight with both of those guys.”
Benavidez had sparred with Bivol before, and there were rumors that he played him. However, if that were true, it would be a sparring match, not a fight. Buffalo would be a problem for Benavidez in a real fight, where he wouldn't practice like in sparring.
Why Morrell now?
“That's why I took this fight (David Morrell) without a problem because when I was waiting for it (to fight the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol), I thought because I was the No. 1 contender (with the WBC), because that fight ended How did either way, you have to give him the respect he deserves for the rematch,” Benavidez said.
It wasn't until David Morrell looked less than impressive in his last fight against Radivoj Kalajdzic on August 3 that Benavidez wanted to fight him. Before that fight, Benavidez and his father, Jose Benavidez Sr., wanted nothing to do with Morrell. They probably saw his weaknesses and decided, 'I think he's perfect.'
“So they were throwing me a few other names and I said, 'Man, I'm not interested in any of those fights. I want big fights, and if we can't get anybody big, we're going to make a big fight from a person who has a belt that talks a lot of shit,' Benavidez said of why he decided to fight Morrell.
The timing of Benavidez's decision to fight Morrell is questionable. It comes on the heels of his first unimpressive performance in his five-year career. Benavidez didn't raise his hand to fight Morrell when he was destroying Sena Agbeko or Yamaguchi Falcao.
“So, that's kind of the way we went. This is a fight that people have been wanting to see for a long time. So I feel like this is the best time for the fight between me and Morrell to happen. It is simply in my mentality that I am ready to fight with the best. I don't care who it is. I'm 100% ready to fight whoever it is, no,” said Benavidez.
