David Benavidez vs. David Morrell Jr. fight prediction, odds, undercard, start time, preview, where to watch

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s refusal to face his high two challengers whereas undisputed tremendous middleweight champion compelled these two males, David Benavidez and David Morrell, right into a high-stakes showdown this Saturday night time. Benavidez and Morrell each moved to mild heavyweight after failing to safe fights with Alvarez. Now, they meet with a possible shot on the undisputed mild heavyweight championship on the road.

Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) twice held the WBC tremendous middleweight title and by no means misplaced the title within the ring. After successful the title the primary time with a cut up determination over Ronald Gavril in 2017, he efficiently defended the belt of their 2018 rematch. Later that yr, it was reported that Benavidez examined optimistic for cocaine in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Company drug take a look at and was stripped of his title and handed a four-month suspension.

Benavidez would regain the title in his second combat after his suspension, stopping Anthony Dirrell within the ninth spherical of their title bout. He would by no means defend that title, failing to make weight for his first deliberate protection in opposition to Roamer Alexis Angulo and being stripped of the belt once more.

Extra dominance of the division continued for Benavidez within the ring, together with choosing up the WBC interim title in 2022. Alvarez collected all 4 world titles at 168 kilos however repeatedly blew off any speak of dealing with Benavidez, the clear high contender for his championships.

Because it grew to become more and more clear {that a} combat with one in all boxing’s greatest stars was by no means going to return to fruition, Benavidez made the leap to 175 kilos the place he once more picked up a WBC interim title by defeating former world champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk. The combat with Gvozdyk proved a bit harder than anticipated, partially due to torn hand ligaments suffered previous to the bout and partially as a result of Benavidez’s endurance appeared to fail him because the combat hit the later rounds.

“I have been working extraordinarily exhausting. I informed you all I used to be going to interrupt David Morrell’s face and that is precisely what I will do on Saturday,” Benavidez stated this week. “Everyone seems to be gonna see an excellent combat. I’ve ready extraordinarily nicely for this combat. Do not blink, as a result of this combat is gonna finish early.”

Morrell (11-0, 9 KO) additionally spent loads of time as an Alvarez necessary challenger and would have been seen as a really respectable opponent for the Mexican celebrity. Regardless of successful the WBA “common” championship in simply his fifth skilled combat and making 5 consecutive defenses, Morrell was dealing with the identical lack of curiosity from Alvarez and likewise made the leap to 175 kilos, defeating Radivoje Kalajdzic to win the “common” title on the new weight.

Like Benavidez’s division-welcoming combat with Gvozdyk, Morrell struggled at occasions in his mild heavyweight debut, taking a call over Radivoje Kalajdzic in a combat that was a lot nearer than the official scorecards indicated. Previous to that combat, solely two of Morrell’s opponents had managed to final previous the fourth spherical.

The prize that eluded each males at tremendous middleweight — a combat with a number of world championships on the road — appears to be in attain now. The winner will turn out to be the apparent challenger for the winner of the rematch between undisputed mild heavyweight champ Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, which takes place on Feb. 22.

“I do not care what he brings into the ring. They name him the monster, however I am not frightened about any of that. I’ve my group behind me and I am prepared,” Morrell stated. “I am 100% assured. I’ve Ronnie Shields in my nook and we had an excellent coaching camp in Texas. I really feel nice and I am not frightened about what anybody else is saying. I will get the final phrase on Saturday.”

The undercard options some high names seeking to splash as soon as once more. Look no additional than the co-main occasion when Brandon Figueroa places his WBC featherweight title on the road in opposition to Stephen Fulton Jr. The 2 met right away traditional in 2021’s Battle of the 12 months the place Fulton walked away with a contested majority determination. Now up a weight class the place Figueroa has had extra success, Fulton might want to discover that very same form of combat if he needs to be a champion once more. 

Plus, former junior welterweight champion Isaac Cruz is again in motion when he takes on Angel Fierro. Cruz, who’s finest recognized for difficult Gervonta “Tank” Davis in 2021, is seeking to get again within the win column after a surprising loss to Jose Valenzuela in August. Previous to that loss, Cruz ripped off 4 straight wins in spectacular trend. He knocked out Rolando “Rolly” Romero in emphatic trend to assert the WBA title. 

Let’s take a better take a look at the remainder of the undercard with the most recent odds earlier than attending to a prediction and knowledgeable choose on the primary occasion beneath.

Benavidez vs. Morrell combat card, odds

• David Benavidez -230 vs. David Morrell +180, mild heavyweights
• Brandon Figueroa (c) -185 vs. Stephen Fulton +150, WBC featherweight title
• Isaac Cruz -900 vs. Angel Fierro +550, junior welterweights
• Jesus Ramos -2500 vs. Jeison Rosario +1100, junior middleweights
• Mirco Cuello -650 vs. Christian Olivo Barreda +450, featherweights
• Yoenli Hernandez -2500 vs. Angel Ruiz Astorga +1100, middleweights
• Kaipo Gallegos -600 vs. Leonardo Padilla +425, junior lightweights
• Jose Benavidez Jr. -1100 vs. Danny Rosenberger +650, middleweights
• Daniel Blancas -2000 vs. Juan Barajas +900, tremendous middleweights
• Curmel Moton -4000 vs. Frank Zaldivar +1200, lightweights

The place to look at Benavidez vs. Morrell Jr. 

• Date: Feb. 1 | Begin time: 8 p.m. ET (major card)
• Location: T-Cellular Area — Las Vegas
• TV channel/stream: Amazon PPV ($79.99) and PPV.com

Prediction

This combat may nicely come right down to which man has made the larger changes to being at mild heavyweight. As gifted as each males are, there is no getting round the truth that each have been lower than their normal stellar selves of their first fights on the weight. It’s value mentioning that neither man took a light-weight contact of their 175-pound debuts however they only did not look as dominant as they’d been for years at tremendous middleweight.

Morrell has been a thudding puncher for many of his profession, blasting out opponents with energy that’s solely improved by having stable method as an achieved beginner. Benavidez’s model is a little more uncooked, although it has at all times been efficient and he is clearly sharpened his instruments as his profession has progressed.

If the combat breaks down right into a firefight, both man has the facility to land a fight-ending shot. Morrell may take a look at Benavidez fading late in his most up-to-date combat as an indication he must attempt to choose spots to push the tempo and drag issues into the later rounds to actually take over whereas Benavidez. That stated, it could be stunning to see both man take a very protected method within the combat and Benavidez’s larger degree {of professional} expertise ought to make him extra snug in edging out the combat. Choose: David Benavidez through MD

Who wins David Benavidez vs. David Morrell, and which methodology of victory prop may carry an enormous return? Be part of SportsLine right here to see which bets you should make for the combat, all from the achieved veteran fight sports activities analyst who has persistently delivered winners.