Benavidez Shuts Down Morrell Rematch

February 5, 2025
7 days

David Benavidez has no intention of giving David Morrell Jr. a rematch following their February 1 clash.

Benavidez secured a unanimous decision win to retain his WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Title. He also picked up Morrell’s WBA Interim belt and, as a result, made him mandatory for the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol. The latter two boxers will fight on February 22 in a rematch for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship. Benavidez extended his record to 30-0, while Morrell suffered the first defeat of his career. In the post-fight presser, Benavidez and Morrell appeared on cordial terms, putting behind any trash talk that had resulted in the build-up. 

However, the same cannot be said for Morrell’s team, as the clip above shows his manager being very outraged at Benavidez. Benavidez responded by vowing to beat him up, showing that not all was well. There were suggestions that there could be a rematch based on the spectacle. Morrell did manage to trouble Benavidez in some parts of the fight. He started off quite well, hanging in with Benavidez until around four rounds. But that is when the Mexican Monster started to pull away with his increased work rate, better defense and combinations. But Morrell showed that he was always a danger, as he managed to secure a knockdown in the 11th round.

Benavidez’s Future

While it was a flash knockdown, it showed that Morrell was still dangerous until the final bell. But Benavidez has no intention of running things back. He made it clear that he wanted to fight for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight title. His preference is to take on Bivol.

This is understandable since he has sparred Bivol previously, having claimed that he knocked him out. But if Bivol were to win, then it is likely that there will be a trilogy. And Benavidez has said he would like to fight Bivol after the trilogy. That may mean Benavidez remains active, but it won’t be against Morrell as he has moved on. The ultimate goal is to get the Canelo Alvarez fight. 

“I think it’ll happen. I just got to keep doing what I’m doing. [And] I think I’ve shown I’m a big enough name. David Morrell wasn’t that known, but we still sold 20,000 people at the T-Mobile Arena. I’m sure the PPVs were pretty good, and I still have a lot of room to grow. I don’t know when Canelo is going to retire, but maybe in a couple of years.

“I’ll have more titles, and Canelo will probably have more titles, and it’ll make for a bigger fight. It would be kind of like Mayweather and Pacquiao. I felt it was close to happening [a match against Canelo], because I’d done everything I was supposed to do to get the fight. People want the fight. For the past two years, I thought it was going to happen, but I guess it’s not time yet,” Benavidez said 

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