There is so much good stuff attached to the recently announced fight between warriors David Benavidez and David Morrell. Firstly, these two unbeaten, in their prime fighters, in agreeing to risk so much in fighting one another, have given us all proof that, yes, there are still proud, no-nonsense fighters out there, men who are willing to take risks, fight the best, and not just look for a payday as they also attempt to keep a firm hold of their unbeaten record by taking the “winnable” fights only.
Secondly, and quite to the point, there seems to be no way this fight, set for February 1st, will be anything but a Fight of the Year contender, a war, a slugfest, a barn burner……..you get the point. Thirdly, this fight is boxing matchmaking at its best, with this fight being looked at by all as a genuinely 50-50 fight. A great case can and has been made for a great fight here, as can a great case be made for either man getting the win.
27-year-old Benavidez, 29-0(24), is one of the most consistently exciting fighters out there today, and he is risking his shot at the winner of the expected Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol return fight. 26-year-old Morrell, 11-0(9), who will be risking his WBA title, is certain he will defeat Benavidez and take his place as the man to rumble with the Beterbiev-Bivol winner.
There is so much on the line, so much action expected, and, above all, so much respect for both right warriors for agreeing to do this, to face each other. It’s easy these days for fighter A to swerve fighter B: the two fighters have rival promotional companies, they fight on separate, even rival platforms and networks, no financial agreement can be made, etc.
But Benavidez of Phoenix, Arizona, and Morrell of Santa Clara, Cuba, are living proof that the best can and do still fight the best. No strings. No excuses. No fuss. Both men came up from 168 pounds, where they both ruled, and the light-heavyweight division was the better for it.
And one other great thing about the February clash is the fact that this one will be staged in Las Vegas. It’s great that the one-time home of boxing super-fights will play host to this one.
Now, who wins and how when these two Davids, one a southpaw, the other an orthodox fighter, collide?
