Taking place at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas will see an excellent boxing clash in the second month of the new year. For this bout, current WBC interim light heavyweight title holder David Benavidez is slated to square off against WBA light heavyweight title champion David Morrell. Per sources, this matchup will be for the respective aforementioned titles and should feature some hard-hitting action on both ends. Both boxers enter this matchup with unblemished records as Benavidez currently boasts a fantastic mark of 29-0 while his opponent has a great body of work in his own right with a mark of 11-0 with nine knockout wins. Each combatant is coming off impressive unanimous decision victories and is looking to make history in this spectacular title matchup.
For this article, SBS will be going over what to look for from each fighter in this matchup, along with a predicted winner, and some additional notes about boxing wagering and more.
Noted above, Benavidez enters this matchup with a spectacular overall mark of 29-0, what’s more, this includes a stellar 24 knockouts. He has held his current title since June 2024, having previously held the WBC super middleweight title twice between 2017 and 2020. Additionally, noted in other reports, having claimed his first title at 20 years, and eight months, Benavidez holds the record as the youngest super-middleweight title holder in history. Additionally, as of this article’s writing, he is ranked second by The Ring magazine, second by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and fourth by BoxRec. In his last outing, the American fighter faced Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the interim WBC light heavyweight strap at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Benavidez would go on to win this fight via unanimous decision.
Prior to that fight, Benavidez had a fantastic showdown against “southpaw phenom” and former WBO champion, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade. In this matchup, Andrade made a great effort against the champion by firing back as often and as much as he could against Benavidez’s “signature forward pressure.” However, after suffering six rounds of accumulated damage, Andrade did not come out of his corner for the seventh round, thus making Benavidez the winner by way of sixth-round stoppage. Prior to this stellar outing against Andrade, he also scored an awesome unanimous decision win over Caleb Plant and a great TKO win over David Lemieux in the matchup prior to that. Of course, this matchup might be his toughest yet against an undefeated and younger opponent.
An awesome amateur fighter, Morrell compiled a record of 130-5 and also won gold medals at the 2016 Youth World Championships during his amateur run. Since then, he has of course continued his winning ways as a professional with an unblemished career mark heading into this showdown with Benavidez. In his last fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic, he was able to defeat his opponent by way of unanimous decision and won the vacant WBA “Regular” light heavyweight title. A strong fighter, he had won his prior seven fights by way of knockout or TKO. Prior to his last outing, Morrell had made six consecutive defenses of the WBA (Regular) super-middleweight title prior to moving up to light heavyweight.
A ferocious combatant, he has definitely put fear into the hearts of his opponents. Specifically, after defending his title on November 5, 2022, against Aidos Yerbossynuly, his opponent was hospitalized and put into an induced coma due to a subdural hematoma following a 12th-round knockout. Additionally, his last bout prior to Kalajdzic saw him score a TKO win over Sena Agbeko in the second round of the contest. Of course, Morrell’s ferocity is well known with well over a hundred wins in his boxing career (amateur and pro) so this matchup could come down to a knockout decision on either side of the ring. Additionally, it would appear that while Benavidez has more experience at the light heavyweight level (by a couple months), Morrell has been consistently dominant throughout his pro career so this matchup will be a spectacular one.
A close battle for sure, Benavidez gets the slight edge here given his more extensive body of work at the current light heavyweight level, but this matchup is critically close. That said, take the veteran Benavidez to take down Morrell given his overall more impressive victories in his pro career.
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About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football and basketball across the country. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones. CURRENTLY Business Development and freelance sports writing RESIDES IN Reno, NV EDUCATION University of Nevada BS and MBA EXPERTISE -Sports writing proficiency in: NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and some motor sports -Topical news -Promotional and marketing ideas/updates -Business development Summary Chris Boline serves in a business development sales capacity as his day job. He has previously held sales/marketing positions with The Applied Companies (TAC), KTVN 2 News and the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. He is a Reno native and is a member of various community boards including the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET and the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA). Chris graduated from the University of Nevada in 2015 with a bachelors in management and economics and also earned his MBA from Nevada in 2023. More about Chris: Past president of the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA) 2022-23 Two-time honoree for University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year (Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, 2017 & COBAA, 2021) 2021 NCET award for Professional Services Organization of the Year with TAC Northern Nevada Human Resources Association 2020 Best Places to Work-Northern Nevada, Second Place with TAC 2016-17 Reno Bighorns MVP from the Sacramento Kings The Nevada Sagebrush editor-in-chief 2013-15 Associated Collegiate Press 2015 Four-year Non-daily Newspaper Pacemaker honoree University of Nevada, Reno College of Business Dean's List honoree (5x) from 2011-2015 Nevada Press Association award for Best Sports Column – Community in 2015 Education
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