David Morrell Jr’s manager, Luis Decubas, would like David Benavidez to face his fighter next if he doesn’t get the Canelo Alvarez fight in May, but he doubts he will.
The fans want to see Benavidez & Morrell fight because that’s the next best possible fight besides a Canelo-Benavidez mega-fight, which may not happen in 2024.
If Benavidez faces Morrell, the winner would be in a position to challenger Canelo or take the throne if he chooses to vacate or retire.
It doesn’t seem likely that Benavidez will get the fight that he’s been repeatedly asking for against Canelo because he seems to have burned his bridges with the wealthy star.
You can argue that Morrell has a better shot of getting a fight against Canelo than Benavidez at this point. Morrell has been pushing Canelo constantly, begging for a fight, and making a genual nuisance of himself.
The one he’s been pressuring is Benavidez because he wants to knock him off his high horse and show the fans that he’s not the fighter that he professes to be.
He says ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) was supposed to enter the ring after Morrell’s successful title defense of his WBA ‘regular’s super middleweight title against Yamaguchi Falcão last April, but once he saw the impressive victory, he “ran for the hills.
Luis says he’s been in the boxing game for 40 years and knows fear when he sees it and sees it in the eyes of Benavidez. He was scared after what we saw.
So instead of Benavdidez fighting Morrell last November, he picked out an old gatekeeper, the former 154-pound champion Demetrius Andrade, for an easy win on showtime PPV in an event that reportedly brought around 60K PPV buys.
Morrell’s manager wants Benavidez next
“We’ve been talking for the last year, and we wanted to make the fight,” said David Morrell Jr’s manager, Luis Decubas, to the media last Saturday night about them wanting to put a fight together with David Benavidez.
“We had November 25th, and we were ready to go. He [Morrell] knocked out [Yamaguchi] Falcão, and he [Benavidez ran for the hills. That’s what happened. We don’t have to do it anymore.”
In a statement fight, Morrell destroyed the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Falcao in the first round last April. If Benavidez got cold feet after watching what Morrell did to Falcao, it’s understandable.
Watching that fight showed that Morrell is a force to be reckoned with in the 168 and someone who could spoil all the hard work that Benavidez has put in trying to get the Canelo payday by beating the likes of Demetrius Andrade, David Lemieux, and Caleb Plant.
“If he [Benavidez] doesn’t fight Canelo, everybody in boxing wants to see this fight,” said Decubas. “The fans aren’t stupid. They know this is the guy. Read the comments. The people that pay to watch the fights.
“80% of the people got this guy as the winner [against Benavidez]. Why do you think they’re avoiding us? Because they’re afraid. ‘I’ll go up to 175 and fight Bivol.’ That’s what he said.”
Canelo probably isn’t going to fight Benavidez because the guy has been pressing too hard, and he’s a cruiserweight in size. Benavidez is similar to Devin Haney in the way he drains down and puts on weight after the weigh-in.
If you’re Benavidez, the best bet would be to move up to 175 or cruiserweight rather than staying around at 168, killing himself to make weight, and continuing to be ignored by Canelo.
“This kid fought Lennox Allen, 22-0, in his second professional fight, and he won the world title, and it was the COVID time. I couldn’t get no sparring for him, So he didn’t even spar for the fight, okay? I just want you to know that. He found his distance in the fight,” said Decubas.
Fans believe Morrell beats Benavidez
“All I can tell you is this. He’s going to go back with his team,’ said Decubas. “He’s going to go back to Luis Jr. and Al Haymon, and they’ll decide what his future is. His team will decide. We’re a good team, we think well, and I think the best thing that can happen for him.”
Morrell looks like a better-skilled fighter with better power than Benavidez, so it’s obvious why fans believe he’ll beat the Mexican Monster.
Benavidez is a simple volume puncher who gets over by having a huge size advantage over his opponents. He also picks a lot of older fighters like 35-year-old Andrade, 34-year-old Lemieuz and 38-year-old Anthony Dirrell.
“We fast-tracked him real fast. Nobody has ever done what he’s done,” said Decubas. “In ten professional fights, he’s in the same breath as Canelo and Benavidez. People are talking, ‘Hey, he can beat him.’ Most of the comments say, ‘He can beat Benavidez.’ 80% of the comments. The fans, not me.
“I told [Mike] Tyson to tell ‘The Monster’ [Benvidez] to fight him, and he said, ‘I don’t know.
“I want to say that they [Team Benavidez] were calling us out first. They’ve been calling us out for a year, and after we said we wanted the fight, the father [Jose Benavidez Sr.] started going back and forth,” said Decubas.
You could see the attitude change based on the comments from Benavidez Sr. and David. They had seemed eager to fight Morrell, but after his wins over Falcao, Aidos Yerbossynuly, and Kalvin Henderson, they lost interest.
Morrell Jr’s manager saw the fear in Benavidez’s eyes
“We had a deal made for November. He [Benavidez] was supposed to come in the ring when he [Morrell] knocked out Falcao [last April]. He never came. He hid. He ran away,” said Decubas.
“I’ve been in boxing for 40 years. I saw it in his [Benavidez] eyes. I saw the fear. Now, we’re ready. Now you can’t hide no more. I know where your mentality is. You get the Canelo fight. If you get it, Gold bless you.”
It’s too bad that Benavidez didn’t at least try to beat Morrell last November on Showtime’s last PPV, as that fight would have brought in more buys, and the winner would have put more pressure on Canelo.
“If you don’t get it, there’s no one else to fight. Stop fighting 154-pounders, man,” said De Cubas. “Lemieux is a 154-pounder. Andrade is a 154-pounder. Kyrone Davis was fighting tonight. He’s a small guy.
“They’ve [Team Benavidez] have been getting small guys. Small guys. This is a full-fledged super middleweight and the Carlos Monzon of our time right here [Morrell]. I had 21 world champions, including Roberto Duran,” said Decubas.
Lemieux, Andrade, and Kyrone are just a few of the easy marks Benavidez has fought. These are some of the others:
Anthony Dirrell – 38
Ronald Ellis
J’Leon Love
Roamer Alexis Angulo
Ronald Gavril
Rogelio Medina
Caleb Plant
“He’s one of the great ones I’ve seen, and I saw that for the first time when Alexi Ferrera showed me his tape against [Cuban] Julio César] La Cruz, the two-time Olympic gold medal winner, 28-years-old, fought him when he was 17, and the communists f**** him,” said Decubas.
