Jose Benavidez Sr. said David Morrell Jr. needs to fight the gatekeepers at 168 next, not his son David Benavidez, after the successful title defense of his WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight belt against Seba Agbeko last Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Morrell and his team won’t be open to listening to Benavidez Sr’s patronizing advice, being steered away from the ‘Mexican Monster’ towards shot gatekeepers.
Jose Sr. wants Morrell to qualify for Benavidez by fighting washed-up vets on their last legs, with nothing left, and would be food for him. This seems more about Jose Sr. wanting to protect his vulnerable son, ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez’ from Morrell to keep from being reduced to rubble the same way Agbeko was last Saturday night in Showtime’s last broadcast of boxing.
When asked in an interview immediately after Morrell Jr’s second round demolition job on Agbeko (28-3, 22 KOs) at The Armory, Jose Sr. said he shouldn’t fight ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez next because he’ll get knocked out.
Instead, the 25-year-old Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) should pick up more experience to keep improving by fighting these fringe contenders at 168:
– Caleb Plant
– Anthony Dirrell
– Demetrius Andrade
In other words, Jose Sr. wants the Cuban crush Morrell Jr. to fight Benavidez’s leftovers, fighters that he’s already beaten handily and would likely receive no credit from the boxing public for beating them due to their advanced age or careers going downhill.
Jose Benavidez wants Morrell to have appetizers
“I think David Morrell is a good fighter, but I think they should put him with guys that are known that are going to take him to deep waters and see what he does,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to Fighthype, when asked what WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. should do next after knocking out Sena Agbeko in the second round last Saturday night.
“He should fight Caleb Plant, Anthony Dirrell, or even a Boo Boo Andrade. That’s the only way he’s going to get qualified to see. We’ll [David Benavidez] will fight him right now. I think David can stop him,” Benavidez Sr. continued about what 25-year-old Morrell should do next rather than fight his son, ‘The Mexican Monster.
Some would read into what Jose Sr. is suggesting as a way for his son, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) to avoid a potential loss and to miss out on the Canelo Alvarez fight that he’s been tirelessly campaigning for years, pushing for and seeming obsessed with the superstar.
Also, recommending that Morrell spend the next two years of his career fighting the 39-year-old Dirrell, 35-year-old Andrade, and Plant is a way of stalling & stunting his career progression, trapping him in meaningless fights that won’t increase his popularity, improve him, and it won’t help him.
“He’s been saying he wants David Benavidez. I would love to fight him. His trainer [Ronnie Shields] said he wasn’t ready [when asked by Jose Sr. after his fourth fight in 2021]. His manager [Luis Decubas] said he wasn’t ready,” said Jose Sr.
Morrell won’t be denied
“I believe he wants that fight. I don’t think that he’s scared of David, but if his team doesn’t think that he’s ready, there’s nothing I can do. I’ve been asking for [him]. I’ve been talking to their team, and I’ve been talking to his trainer. We want to fight him,” said Jose Sr., sounding disingenuous about wanting Morrell to fight Benavidez.
Morrell won’t be denied, and he’s not going to be satisfied with taking on Benavidez’s beaten-up former opponents, who have nothing left at this point. Further, the odds of Plant, Andrade & Dirrell fighting Morrell are zero. They’re not going to agree to fight the Cuban crush, especially after what he did to Agbeko last night.
“I think David [Benavidez] can stop him in eight or nine rounds, but I also believe he’s going to get better. He’s a really good fighter, and he is getting better, and better and better. But I want to fight him now because I think David can stop him,” said Benavidez Sr. about Morrell.
