Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. says he thinks Caleb Plant is a better fighter than David Morrell, and he feels he made a mistake by choosing to fight David Benavidez this early in his 11-fight career.
Benavidez Sr. says Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) should have fought Caleb Plant, Anthony Dirrell, Demetrius Andrade, and Trevor McCumby before looking in the direction of fighting ‘The Mexican Monster.’
WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion Morrell will be fighting WBC ‘interim champ Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) this Saturday, February 1st, on PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The PPV price is $79.95.
Plant Over Morrell?
“David [Benavidez] is an exciting fighter. He’s a friendly TV fighter and a fighter that you guys are not going to regret watching because he does bring a lot of excitement to the fight. Nothing is going to change here,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to MillCity Boxing, talking about Saturday’s fight between David Morrell and David Benavidez.
“This is the best camp we’ve ever had. The reason this is the best camp we’ve ever had is because, mentally and physically, David [Benavidez] is on another level. He’s mature, and his man strength kicked in. So, you guys are going to see another David that is more powerful than before.
“I would say, yes,” said Jose Sr. when asked if Caleb Plant is better than David Morrell. “My question is why did they put him [Morrell] with David? I think they made a big mistake. They should have fought Caleb Plant, Boo Andrade, maybe [Trevor] McCumby, and [Anthony] Dirrell.
What Jose Sr. fails to realize is that none of the fighters that he mentions were ever interested in fighting Morrell. Plant, Andrade, and Dirrell never expressed interest in fighting him. Even if he did fight them, they’re all old fighters, and he wouldn’t gain anything fighting them. Andrade is 36, and Anthony Dirrell is 40. He hasn’t fought in three years since being knocked out by Plant in 2022. Plant is still young, but he likely wouldn’t agree to fight Morrell.
“A Big Mistake”
“If I was managing him, that’s what I would probably do. I think they made a big mistake putting him with David [Benavidez]. We don’t know what this guy [Morrell] has. He has 11 fights. In his last fight, he had a little bit of trouble against a guy I don’t even know [Radivoje Kalajdzic],” said Benavidez Sr.
Radivoje is a better fighter than the guys that Benavidez Sr. wanted Morrell to fight to get more experienced, and he dominated him in their fight last August.
Jose Sr’s attitude about ducking sums up why it took him and his son, David Benavidez, to finally take the fight with Morrell because he’d been called out since 2022 by the Cuban fighter. It didn’t want to fight him until recently after his last fight against Radivoje, and you can guess why. There’s a lot of fear with Benavidez’s team.
Why wouldn’t Morrell’s management put him in with Benavidez? There’s so much to gain by Morrell defeating him because if he wins, he’ll face the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch. There’s a lot of money to make.
