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Lonnie Thompson is leaning in direction of David Benavidez defeating David Morrell of their battle in 30 days on February 1st on the T-Cellular Enviornment in Las Vegas. Thompson sparred with Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and was impressed together with his engine and the way he attacked his physique.
Lonnie B thinks WBC interim gentle heavyweight champion Benavidez will break WBA ‘regular’ champ Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) with stress and knock him out sooner or later within the battle.
Underestimating Morrell
He sees Benavidez as a KO puncher for some purpose, however he’s clearly not, particularly at 175, the place he’s lastly going through guys his personal measurement after years of campaigning towards smaller fighters at 168. Morrell is an actual knockout artist, and if there’s going to be a KO on this battle, it’ll be him who does it.
The true image is that Benavidez is VERY weak within the higher physique and is pressured to make use of quantity punching as his path to successful his fights. His power is on the decrease finish of the spectrum for gentle heavyweight contenders. That’s why he was ineffective in his debut at 175 towards Oleksandr Gvozdyk final summer season. Benavidez’s lack of higher physique power jogs my memory of a T-Rex dinosaur’s arms. There’s no energy, like a vestigial characteristic of the long-extinct creature’s withered arms.
“I got David Benavidez. David Morrell is real slick, but he’s got the kind of style where you got to put pressure on him. If you put pressure on him and go to his body, you’ll get him. David [Benavidez] specializes in that,” stated Lonnie Thompson to Professional Boxing Followers, guessing that Benavidez will defeat Morrell.
Contemplating that Morrell hasn’t been crushed, Thompson’s remark about beat him relies on guesswork fairly than one he’s seen earlier than. Nobody has crushed Morrell within the professional ranks or come near it.
“He’s [Benavidez] got to be careful with the slick counters because David Morrell does have a little pop, and he does have slick counters. I think with the way David fights, he’s going to give David Morrell problems because he’s not going to let him be slick, doing all the slick stuff that he does with his feet,” stated Thompson.
Morrell has greater than a “little pop.” He’s arguably the largest puncher within the gentle heavyweight division. So, for Lonnie to be saying that Morrell solely has a “little” energy, it means that he hasn’t correctly watched him battle and has no concept what he’s speaking about. He’s clearly extra conversant in Benavidez than he’s with Morrell, which is comprehensible as a result of he has been a professional for 12 years since 2013 and has plenty of miles on the odometer.
“He’s going to have to keep working and working. There’s going to come a time where he’s going to have to fight David because David [Benvidez] is good at coming and letting his hands go,” stated Lonnie B. “So, if David Morrell can catch him in between and hurt him, that’s the only chance I give him to win.”
Nah, Thompson is improper. Morrell has extra of an opportunity of successful this battle than by knocking out Benavidez. He can beat him by choice by outboxing or out-punching him. His boxing abilities are superior to Benavidez’s attributable to his lengthy beginner profession, preventing the highest fighters in Cuba and on the world stage.
Benavidez didn’t have that. He turned professional fairly than going the beginner route and has at all times been a pure slugger, principally attributable to him preventing in a weight class beneath his large gentle heavyweight body at tremendous middleweight.
“David Benavidez showed me a lot. After his last fight [Oleksandr Gvozdyk], no, he’s for real,” stated Thompson about Benavidez’s final battle towards 37-year-old former WBC gentle heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June fifteenth.
“I don’t think he’s going to have a lot of knockouts, but that kid hit him with some shots. That kid, Oleksandr [Gvozdyk], hit him with some shots, and he can punch. He [Benavidez] took them well and came back and was letting his hands go,” stated Lonnie B.
It feels like Lonnie didn’t watch the Benavidez-Gvozdyk battle. Benavidez didn’t “come back.” He gassed out and took a beating in your complete second half of the battle and was getting the tar crushed out of him by Gvozdyk in rounds 9 by way of 12. He was getting hit with pictures that will knock a gap by way of a wall.
Yeah, Benavidez took the punches, however he didn’t come again. He was a punching bag within the final 4 rounds. Lonnie B may need seen spotlight clips on YouTube that favored Benavidez, however that’s not how the battle performed out in rounds six by way of twelve. David appeared exhausted and weak, getting pummeled by the stronger Gvozdyk.
Thompson’s Prediction
“David Morrell hasn’t been tested like that, though. I’m leaning more toward David Benavidez because I sparred with him,” stated Thompson. “He punches really well to the body. Just from my observation, I don’t think David Morrell is going to be able to take that over 12 rounds.”
It will be a mistake for Benavidez to attempt to go to Morrell’s physique as a result of he’ll go away his head open for energy pictures. He might find yourself getting knocked out like Sena Agbeko and Yamaguchi Falcão. These guys tried to assault Morrell’s physique and had been shortly knocked out. Benavidez will likely be a sitting duck if he lowers his fingers to focus on Morrell’s midsection.
“Yeah, but I could be wrong but I think David Benavidez is going to stop him,” stated Lonnie B. “David has got one of those styles. When you look at him, you’re like, ‘Okay,’ but when you get in there with him, it’s a lot tougher than I thought.”
Benavidez is just not a knockout puncher, and undoubtedly not at 175. The blokes he knocked out at 168 had been small and outdated, like Demetrius Andrade, Roamer Alexis Angulo, David Lemieux, and Anthony Dirrell. All of these guys had been smaller than Benavidez and 35-ish.
“I thought he’d be there for this shot, but he’s not. His hands are up, he takes a good punch, and he comes back. His work rate is high. You’ve got to be in tip-top position to keep up with him. It’s going to be a good fight, but I’m leaning more toward David Benavidez,” stated Lonnie B.
Benavidez can have issues utilizing his quantity punching towards Morrell as a result of he strikes and chooses when he desires to have interaction together with his opponent. His sluggish ft will make it arduous for him to get to Morrell and land his quantity. Sadly, he strikes like Frankenstein’s monster and may solely land his pictures towards stationary fighters.
