David Benavidez selected to proceed his run of creating his personal legacy.
The Ring has confirmed {that a} drastic change in path has come because it pertains to Benavidez’s subsequent combat. The unbeaten former two-time WBC tremendous middleweight titlist will subsequent face David Morrell. Their long-discussed matchup is being groomed to high a PBC on Prime Pay-Per-View occasion within the first quarter of 2025.
Additional particulars weren’t but established as this goes to publication. A number of sources have knowledgeable The Ring that the timeframe is anyplace from late January or to late February.
The event is in stark distinction to representatives from Benavidez’s group claiming “false” information of a mouthwatering conflict with Morrell. Benavidez (29-0, 24 knockouts) even dismissed the combat at one claiming. The 27-year-old Phoenix native—now based mostly within the higher Seattle space—beforehand alleged that he was going through Jesse Hart on Dec. 14.
These rumors have been instantly dismissed by Hart, who had no information of the matchup. PBC officers finally dominated out Benavidez combating on that date, which is headlined by the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach WBA light-weight title combat.
Benavidez will as an alternative get his personal present, with a combat to warrant his personal headlining act. The Ring has discovered that half was the “false information” a part of his group’s claims. The newest spherical of gossip had the combat co-headlining a long-rumored Sebastian Fundora-Errol Spence junior middleweight title combat.
That matchup has but to make its solution to the schedule. Regardless, Benavidez-Morrell was by no means tabbed for its undercard even when Fundora-Spence turns into a actuality. The combat is sufficiently big to command its personal banner, exactly why Benavidez ran head first in that path.
“There was a variety of names on the desk, however I needed to offer my followers one of the best combat potential,” Benavidez stated Tuesday on social media. “I reached out to David Morrell and his group to make this occur, and we received the contract finished.
“This combat actually goes to be a banger! [Two] of one of the best within the division and [two] titles on the road.”
The titles to which Benavidez refers are of the secondary selection. Benavidez holds the interim WBC mild heavyweight title. Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs)—a Cuban export who trains in Houston—has the interim WBA mild heavyweight belt.
Each boxers beforehand campaigned at tremendous middleweight and have been steadily linked to a head-on collision. It was a pure speaking level, as each beforehand focused RING/undisputed tremendous middleweight king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs). Nonetheless, the sensation was lower than mutual in return.
Benavidez and Morrell individually determined to as an alternative marketing campaign at mild heavyweight.
The pair of unbeaten elite-talent fighters appeared inside seven weeks of each other.
Benavidez outpointed former WBC mild heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 in Las Vegas. The bout got here in supporting capability to Davis’ eighth-round knockout of unbeaten Frank Martin.
Morrell went twelve rounds in a factors win over Radivoje Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs) on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles. Their combat was a part of Riyadh Season’s debut launch within the U.S., topped by Terence Crawford’s fourth divisional title win over Israil Madrimov.
Rumors consistently resurfaced of a direct conflict, although they gave the impression to be on separate paths. The Ring has discovered that prior plans known as for Morrell to headline a PBC on Prime present—off PPV—in November or December. These plans have been scrapped because the PBC lineup was reshuffled and extra related matchups got here to floor.
There are few on the schedule as enticing as this combat, with out a number of major title at stake.
Benavidez was already assured to subsequent reality the winner of this weekend’s Artur Beterbiev-Dmitrii Bivol RING/undisputed mild heavyweight championship. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed Benavidez as the following necessary challenger in ready.
Morrell’s model of the WBA title would theoretically place him in queue as nicely. Nonetheless, that might require the sanctioning physique to take applicable motion.
It’s a moot level for now, as they flip to one another for his or her subsequent payday, each of the agency perception that the reward justifies the huge danger.
