Former HBO commentator Jim Lampley favors David Benavidez to dethrone WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell in their main event fight this Saturday, February 1st, on PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
(Credit: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
The Business Angle
Lampley feels that the sport has “bigger possibilities” if Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) wins because he’s a “Mexican American” than if the Cuban Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) is victorious. That’s a superficial, non-sporting way to look at an athletic contest, focusing on just the business side, but there are truths to that.
It’s better for boxing if Benavidez wins, but it may be temporary. If he defeats Morrell, then faces undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and gets crushed by him, his stock will plummet immediately. Benavidez’s popularity would only be temporary.
Moreover, if Benavidez moves up to cruiserweight and is destroyed by IBF champion Jai Opetaia, it would be the same. So, beating Morrell won’t mean much if Benavidez lacks the talent to go beyond this fight, and he’ll need a strong chin to survive fights against Beterbiev and Opetaia because he’s not exactly hard to hit.
Morrell has similar power as Artur Beterbiev, and if Benavidez is just going to try and walk through his punches the way he did against the smaller, older fighters that he built his 29-0 record on, it might end badly for him on Saturday night. They’ll be scooping Benavidez up with a giant spatula afterward and taking him out of the ring in bits & pieces.
Morrell’s Opportunity
“There were other Cubans that wanted to knock people out, too. He [David Morrell] has power, and the power southpaw is a rare occurrence in the sport for whatever reason. Southpaws often wind up as being technicians, and conventional fighters are more likely to come power-punchers,” said Jim Lampley to Sean Zittel, talking about the Cuban southpaw, David Morrell, ahead of his fight against David Benavidez on Saturday.
“He’s [Morrell] got a powerful right hook, and he’s got real skills. He’s got a tremendous platform here to show what he can do. He’s not the favorite. Benavidez is the favorite, but I think if the fight was in Havana [Cuba], he’d be the favorite. So, I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for Morrell.
“I think Benavidez can become a giant star. I think he has bigger possibilities than Morrell because he’s a Mexican American. That’s a larger audience. I don’t root for either of them, but I think the sport will benefit if Benavidez puts on a Benavidez-type show.
Benavidez can become a giant star, but again, he may not last long if he chooses to fight the best rather than swerve them the way many carefully packaged fighters do. Beterbiev will probably knock out ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez and destroy him like he did Callum Smith. It’s telling that Benavidez and his dad are focused on WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez rather than IBF champion Jai Opetaia.
That suggests they know their limitations and don’t want to mess with Opetaia. Some believe that Benavidez ducked Morrell for the last three years and only wanted to fight him now because he didn’t look good in his previous fight in his debut at 175 against Radivoje Kalajdzic.
If Team Benavidez dodged Morrell all these years, they’ll likely do the same with Opetaia. Benavidez wants Artur Beterbiev because he’s 40, and there’s a lot of money to make fighting him from Saudi Arabia. He’ll make a lot of money and have a built-in excuse if he loses to Beterbiev. ‘I fought the best light heavyweight on the planet.’ It would be just like the injured hand excuse that Benavidez used after his poor performance in his debut at light heavyweight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk last June.
“There are areas where Morrell may have significant advantages,” said Lampley. “The incentives are bigger for Benavidez. It changes his life more than it changes Morrell’s if Benavidez can win this in spectacular fashion, and he knows that. So, I think because his dreams can be bigger, his horizons can be bigger, and I can favor Benavidez to win the fight.”
The “Weight Bully” Debate
Again, Lampley is focused on the business side of things rather than the sporting side in the Benavidez vs. Morrell fight. Hopefully, there will be no controversial decision involved in this fight, with the A-side fighter Benavidez given a win over Morrell after being dominated. That would tarnish any victory Benavidez is given.
“I have not seen a shortcoming that I can see as a clear potential for Morrell to upset him and win the fight, but it might show up on Saturday night,” said Lampley, reacting to being told that many fans view Benavidez as a ‘weight bully because he’s been fighting smaller, older fighters’ through much of his career.
