For all of David Morrell's
amateur success, knockouts in the pros, and athletic talent, it was clear as early as the first round that he wasn't prepared for what David Benavidez
had to offer on Saturday night. The first significant blows that Benavidez landed
were lead right hooks that looped around Morrell's high guard and hit him
squarely on the side of the head. Now those aren't traditional punches for an
orthodox fighter to throw; still, there's a lot of tape on Benavidez and the right hooks
weren't exactly a surprise. Yet, Morrell's defense was lacking.
As the rounds continued,
Benavidez landed repeatedly with two-punch combinations where the first
shot of the sequence was a throwaway punch only for the second one to land with
maximum force. He executed this often with the left hook/right hook to the body and
the straight right/left hook to the body. Here again, Morrell didn't have the
ability to defend himself properly.
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Benavidez (right) lands an uppercut Photo courtesy of Esther Lin |
But it wasn't all one-way traffic for Benavidez in the fight. On multiple occasions, Morrell caught Benavidez with a short right hook as Benavidez was coming in. He stunned Benavidez with the punch in the 4th and dropped him in the 11th with it. Morrell also found moments to explode off the ropes with quick combinations that were able to temporarily quell Benavidez's momentum.
However, most of the fight
consisted of Benavidez pressing forward and causing damage with his wide array
of punches. His weapons were manifold: jab, left hook, right hook, straight
right, left uppercut, right uppercut, body punches, and combinations. He had
every punch available at his disposal.
To Morrell's credit, he took a
lot of punishment in the fight yet never stopped trying. He fought well in the
championship rounds and put forth a spirited effort. There were multiple times in the fight where he was being battered, yet he summoned the fortitude to fire off massive power shots at Benavidez. Morrell was being
beaten, but he refused to act like a beaten fighter.
Benavidez won the fight by a unanimous decision, 115-111, 115-111 and 118-108. The funky scores could be
explained by Morrell losing a point in the 11th for hitting Benavidez well
after the final bell had rung in the round. I had it 116-110.
Although this fight was not for a
major light heavyweight title, it turned out to be a coming out party for Benavidez. In a
raucous T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Benavidez put on a star-making performance.
Although facing an undefeated fighter with considerable hype, Benavidez established his supremacy quickly. The crowd ate it up. They
loved his power punching, his spite, his come-forward aggression, his showmanship, and his
willingness to mix it up.
It's been an incremental build
for Benavidez, but now at the age of 28 and with a pristine 30-0 record with 24
knockouts, it's clear that he has become a significant draw in the
sport. And although two long-time elite fighters, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry
Bivol, also reside in the 175-lb. division, Benavidez and his supporters will like their
chances against anyone.
What's often been forgotten about Benavidez is his considerable boxing education. Many will comment on his size, his pressure and his offensive output, but there is much more to him in the ring. Turning pro well before his 18th birthday, sparring the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin, Bivol and Gilberto Ramirez, coming from a fighting family, Benavidez has amassed a collection of unusual skills and talents that make him formidable in the ring.
As a big man, he is just as comfortable fighting on the inside as he is at range. Often, he prefers to dish out damage in close quarters. Although he's known as an aggressor in the ring, he can spring traps if he is being pursued.
Despite what may appear to some as sloppy footwork, he routinely cuts off the ring on supposedly superior
athletes, like Morrell, Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade. Saturday's fight
against Morrell also showed how successful he is at keeping an opponent in his
wheelhouse. He'll use his arms to push an opponent back into place. He'll hold an
opponent's head and hit (an illegal maneuver, but he gets away with it). He'll
also use his body to close off exit routes, which he did multiple times against
Morrell. Benavidez used his left shoulder to block Morrell
from exiting to his own right side (his preferred route), which allowed Benavidez to
continue to do damage at close range.
Benavidez has punches from
every range. After throwing long right hooks from distance on Saturday, he then shortened up his right to land straight down the middle. In close he threw
sickening body shots and left uppercuts. At mid-range, he landed consistently
with his jab and short right hands.
Another aspect of Benavidez that
is often overlooked is his defense. Along with Canelo, Benavidez may be the
best in boxing at blocking shots with his arms while pressing forward. He doesn't lose his aggression, positioning or intent when facing incoming fire. In that he likes exchanges, he will get hit at
times, but he was the one with the far superior defense on
Saturday.
Benavidez with his team Photo courtesy of Esther Lin |
As for Morrell, there was a lot to like about his intangibles during the fight. Facing by far the best opponent of his career, he refused to wilt. And despite almost all his pro fights consisting of quick stoppages, Morrell displayed a spirited effort in the closing rounds. The fight had not been beaten out of him.
However, Morrell's defense just
wasn't good enough on Saturday. Benavidez landed 40% of his shots in the fight
and most of those weren't love taps. Morrell was getting hit by thunder.
Although Morrell's starting hand positioning was usually sound, his defensive
reflexes weren't quick enough to block Benavidez's attacks. Furthermore, he
didn't have the intuitive understanding in how to make defensive adjustments
during the fight. Yes, Benavidez can throw a kitchen sick at an opponent, but
there was never a point in the fight where Morrell was successful
at taking away a weapon or two; more often Benavidez behaved in the ring like
he could throw and land anything that he wanted.
On offense Morrell needs to broaden his skillset. He's perfectly fine coming forward or exploding
with a quick combination. However, Morrell ignored Benavidez's body
throughout the fight, which demonstrated either a lack of skills or confidence with this part of his game. Morrell's jab was also a non-factor in the fight. And
perhaps most importantly, Morrell needs to understand how to win slower rounds.
He prefers to fight in a frenetic style, but as Saturday showed, against
world-class opponents, more is needed. He wasn't setting up shots. He was
not clinching to buy time. He was not using his legs like he could have. He wasn't cagey. He
wanted to win firefight exchanges, but he was clearly second best in that
category.
In a perfect world, Morrell would have had better
development fights prior to Benavidez. But to Morrell's credit, he took the
challenge, and now his team can make a real assessment about what they have and
what they need to improve upon going forward. This experience was infinitely more important in Morrell's long-term
development than additional early-round knockouts against substandard
opposition.
As for Benavidez, I believe that he's reached another echelon in the sport. Yes, there are threats out there and he could certainly lose, but he has the fight style, talent and charisma to take boxing fans on a wonderful journey. His fights guarantee action, power punching, high degrees of skill and the type of fearlessness that reminds fans why they love the sport. If he can stay focused out-of-the ring, he could have a spectacular run over the next five years.
With the dearth of American
boxing stars at the moment, Benavidez will be asked to carry a lot of
water for the sport. But I think this is exactly where he wants
to be. He sees himself as a star. He believes that he is among boxing's best. He knows that now is his time. And it could be quite a
time for all of us.