David Benavidez still hasn’t let go of Canelo Alvarez, never allowing him to fight him. This bothers him. He needs to move on and forget about Alvarez once and for all. There are bigger concerns for Benavidez against David Morrell on February 1st because he has everything to gain or lose.
Showing that he’s still not mentally over it, Benavidez told DAZN News that Canelo is “fighting the easiest guys he could fight.” Even if it’s true, Canelo has already fought top guys his entire 19-year career, facing more big names than Benavidez, and accumulated a massive $250 million fortune.
Benavidez’s Fixation
Now that the ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) holds the WBC interim light heavyweight title, he should have already forgotten about Alvarez, yet he’s still talking about him. He’s dwelling on the past, ruminating on it, and thinking about the unfairness of it all.
You could think that the 27-year-old Benavidez would be happy that he’s fighting at 175 and has a chance to potentially make big money fighting the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2. He’s unhappy and still seemingly fixated on Canelo, replaying all his past hurts from being rejected by the red-haired superstar.
After watching him struggle to beat Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his debut at 175 on June 15th, Canelo noted that Benavidez isn’t the same fighter without his size advantage. That performance by Benavidez showed that he doesn’t possess the same pop in his punches in this weight class as when he was campaigning at 168.
Benavidez will be fighting WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell on February 1st in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winner of that fight will eventually fight Beterbiev or Bivol.
Benavidez vs. Morrell
Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) has an excellent chance of beating Benavidez and putting him in his place, showing that he’s not the fighter that some had thought.
“I fight for titles, and I fight for accolades,” Benavidez said, sounding like he was trying to pump up his credentials. “I like what’s going on at 175. These guys, everybody in this division is fighting the best. There could only be one king. I got to get past David Morrell, which I know I’m going to do that.”
One good thing that can come out of Benavidez potentially losing to Morrell is that it would give him some mental closure about the Canelo fight. He would realize after a loss to Morrell that there would be no chance to fight Canelo, and he wouldn’t deserve the match. The only thing Benavidez could do is push for a rematch with Morrell, which might not be advisable depending on how badly he loses.
It’s great that Benavidez fights for world titles, but so does Canelo. He holds three real-world titles now, whereas Benavidez possesses just the WBC interim 175-lb belt, which isn’t a real belt. It’s considered a trinket.