Becoming a superstar in modern boxing is not easy. One of the easiest ways to do it — or at least to give yourself the best chance to become one — is to beat one of the few already-established superstars, if you’re lucky enough to have one at or near your weight. For David Benavidez and David Morrell Jr, that man was there.
The pair of them were at super middleweight and doing what they could to earn a fight with super middleweight and box office king Canelo Alvarez. But with Canelo seemingly indifferent about facing either man, the Davids moved up to light heavyweight in 2024. There was no Canelo at 175, but there was Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, who are now tangled up with one another for what will be back-to-back fights, the rematch coming on Feb.
22 in Riyadh. Once again, Benavidez, 28, and Morrell, 27, found themselves without big name dance partners. And they’re done waiting.
Benavidez and Morrell have simply turned their attention to one another, and will square off on Feb. 1 in a PBC pay-per-view main event from Las Vegas. There are no world titles on the line, but this is a high stakes fight for both men, with the possibility of facing the Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 winner later this year on the table.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) made his light heavyweight debut last June, not exactly blowing doors off against skilled ex-titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk, but winning comfortably. Morrell (11-0, 9 KO) had a similar outing in his August move up, winning a decision against R.
