Jose Benavidez Sr. says WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell needs to prove himself by defeating Caleb Plant before a fight between him and David Benavidez would make sense.
The former IBF super middleweight champion Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) appears to be interested in fighting Jermall Charlo next, as that’s a fight that would create interest and it’s a winnable one for him based on how rusty the unbeaten WBC 160-lb champ looked against Jose Benavidez Jr. last Saturday night.
As for the Benavidez-Morrell fight, it should be Benavidez who needs to prove himself because he would be the challenger against Morrell, not the other way around.
Jose Sr. still hopes undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez will agree to fight Benavidez on Cinco de Mayo in May. That might be a useless pipe dream on Jose Sr’s part because there’s already talk that Canelo is in talks with Jaime Munguia to fight in May, and Benavidez isn’t being mentioned.
Benavidez & Jose Sr. will need to decide soon who they will fight. Fighting Morrell makes sense because he’s the best remaining fighter in the weight class once you remove Canelo from the equation.
Morrell needs to prove himself against Plant
“I don’t underestimate Morrell. He’s an Olympian, too. Boo Boo was an Olympian and a two-time world champion, awkward,” said Jose Benavidez Jr. to Fighthype, doing his best job he can diminishing David Morrell Jr. to explain why David Benavidez shouldn’t have to fight the talented fighter.
“Morrell is a great fighter, but sometimes, you need that experience to fight all these styles. If you look at Morrell and look at David, if I tell you right now, what do you see so special about Morrell? A good uppercut, a good body shots, good jabs, good right hands.
The excuses that Benavidez’s dad is making for why he shouldn’t have to fight Morrell indicates that he doesn’t want to risk having his son, David, get beaten., which is fine because it’s smart to protect ‘The Mexican Monster’ from getting exposed by the talented Cuban.
Why the talented former Cuban amateur star Morrell would need to prove himself to defend his WBA title against challenger Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) is unclear, as that sounds backward.
“Does he throw a volume of punches? I don’t even think he takes things serious,” said Benavidez Sr. “He goes in there. Who has he fought? Who is he fighting now? [Sena Agbeko on December 16th]. Do you know that guy? Is he a good guy?
“I think he should be fighting Caleb Plant to see how he looks with him, and once he beats Caleb Plant, just by fighting him and beating him, it doesn’t matter how he wins. Then we can say, but we’ll fight Morrell tomorrow because we’re here to fight whoever. We’re here to keep proving ourselves.”
It could backfire on Jose Sr. if Morrell (9-0, 8 KOs) were to fight Plant because if he looks better than Benavidez did, the fans will know that he’s the best fighter in the 168-lb division, outside of Canelo.
Benavidez struggled against Plant, losing the fight through the first six rounds. If Morrell fights Plant and dominates the guy, it would confirm that Jose Sr. and Benavidez have avoided him for fear of being beaten by the Cuban talent. They already think that, but it would be out in the open.
Jose Sr. says Morrell lacks experience
“I don’t think he has the experience,” said Jose Sr, about Morrell not having the experience against Benavidez. “I think David will stop him. I don’t think he has the experience.
“I think in about a year or two, he’s going to get more dangerous, and possibly in the future, that will be a great fight, but right now, I don’t underestimate him. I would love to fight him,” said Jose Sr. about Morrell.
In a year or two, Benavidez will probably be fighting at 175 or cruiserweight, and it won’t even be a discussion point for a fight between him and Morrell to occur.
They would be in different weight classes, and Benavidez would have his hands full, trying to deal with the monsters at 175, Dmitry Bivol & Artur Beterbiev, or at cruiserweight against Jai Opetaia. Morrell would be the one to face Canelo because Benavidez will have outgrown the 168-lb division.
“If they call me right now and say, ‘Let’s make the fight.’ Let’s make it happen before he gets better because he is getting better, and he’s a great fighter,” said Jose Sr. about him supposedly being willing to match David Benavidez against Morrell.
If Jose Sr. is serious about letting Benavidez fight Morrell, why does he continue with the double talk, saying he should prove himself against Plant or lacks experience? Why say those things if he’s open to making that fight with Morrell?
“He is going to get all that experience, and it’s going to make it difficult. Why not take him now?
“Either or,” said Benavidez Sr. about Dmitry Bivol & Artur Beterbiev being tough fights for Benavidez. “I would say because he beat Canelo, I would say Bivol. The other guy [Beterbiev] hits like a mule.
