How David Benavidez and David Morrell Jr. became unexpected rivals in pursuit of gold and glory

From an intoxicating clash of in-ring styles to the tremendous stakes at play with the winner expected to challenge for the undisputed crown at 175 pounds, Saturday’s PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view main event was already considered a hot ticket on the 2025 boxing calendar. 

But when you add in the pre-fight drama and palpable dislike between David Benavidez and David Morrell, who will square off inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, this summit of unbeaten light heavyweights has become simply a must-see affair. 

It didn’t take long once the bout was announced in November for fireworks to escalate at the kickoff press conference in Los Angeles as Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) accused Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) of performance-enhancing drug use while the Cuban-born slickster mocked his opponent’s fighting stance by comparing him to the fictional movie character “RoboCop.”

Weeks later, however, during a dual media day in Miami, matters officially boiled over when Benavidez, a two-time super middleweight champion, shoved Morrell during their face-off to ignite a melee that saw Morrell throw his secondary 168-pound title at his opponent. 

“This is all more fuel to the flame to go in there and do what I have to do,” Benavidez told CBS Sports on Monday. “Now, I’m really gonna put a beating on him. This guy is trying to act hard. It is what it is. On [Saturday], none of this matters. I’m gonna break his mouth.”

In theory, the origins of this rivalry were birthed when both boxers were unable to draw unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez into a title clash despite both being mandatory opponents. Both Benavidez and Morrell, independently, chose to move up to 175 pounds rather than stall their careers in hopes of landing a career-defining fight against the Mexican icon who has showed little to no interest in fighting either of them.

So, what did they do? Benavidez and Morrell aimed their swords at one another in a bout that’s expected to match the winner against whoever is left standing in the Feb. 22 undisputed title rematch at 175 pounds between future Hall of Famers Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. 

Although many of Benavidez’s biggest fights have featured this kind of drama in the past, including a particularly juicy build to his 2023 PPV win over Caleb Plant, this type of behavior from Morrell has been a bit of a surprise. 

Much of the disgust from Morrell seems rooted in the idea that he feels Benavidez could have already fought him years earlier but purposely chose not to ever mention his name. 

“Everybody says that Benavidez is the bogeyman and that no one wants to fight him [but] I want to face the best. That’s why I went straight for him,” Morrell said. “People call him ‘The Mexican Monster, but I’m not scared of monsters. I hunt them down! He has never faced someone like me, and come fight night, he’s going to realize that I’m faster, stronger and smarter than anyone he’s ever stepped in the ring with.”

From the moment the fight was announced, oddsmakers have deemed this a veritable pick ’em in a true 50/50 fight at the highest level, even though Benavidez’s line as a favorite has recently ballooned to more than 2-to-1 in his favor. 

If there’s anything separating the two fighters, it’s big-fight experience as Benavidez enters the bout on a destructive four-fight stretch of having dominated former titleholders David Lemieux, Caleb Plant and unbeaten Demetrius Andrade, before struggling a bit with ex-champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his light heavyweight debut last June. 

Benavidez, a 28-year-old native of Phoenix, still claimed a hard-fought decision against Gvozdyk but was forced to overcome injuries to both hands that prevented him from looking like the in-ring bully fans were used to at super middleweight, which led to Hall of Famer Mike Tyson adorning Benavidez with his “Mexican Monster” nickname. 

“We let the hands heal up,” Benavidez said. “We had about three months before we did anything with the hands. [I have] no injuries at all coming into this fight. When I tore the tendon in my right hand and a fractured knuckle on the left hand. I couldn’t do strength and conditioning, but this camp I’ve been able to do it the whole time. I can’t wait to perform this Saturday.”

Morrell, the 27-year-old flashy southpaw who now fights out of Minneapolis, also looked somewhat pedestrian in a harder-than-expected debut at 175 pounds last August when he outpointed former title challenger Radivoje Kaladzic. But whatever Morrell lacks in terms of experience compared with Benavidez hasn’t come by choice.

Ever since he turned pro in 2019, Morrell has been on the fast track to potential greatness. He fought for a vacant interim title in just his third pro fight but has had trouble getting big-name opponents to take the risk of fighting him thanks to a dynamic highlight reel which showcases just how explosive, creative and slick Morrell truly is. 

The fact that we still don’t truly know how great Morrell is or whether he has the backbone to overcome such a menacing opponent as Benavidez is arguably the most intriguing part of tuning in on Saturday in order to find out. 

“I’m 100% confident,” Morrell said. “I have Ronnie Shields in my corner and we had a great training camp in Texas. I feel great and I’m not worried about what anyone else is saying. I’m going to get the last word on Saturday.

“Inside of the ring, nobody can stop what we’re gonna do to each other, just the referee. I promise that I’m here to knock him out. I have everything I need to win. This is my time and my moment. 2025 is my year.”

What has been most surprising from the standpoint of Morrell’s confident pre-fight demeanor is just how much he has dismissed the skillset of Benavidez, who often squares up at close range behind his high guard and walks opponents down in the second half of fights. 

“He looks like ‘RoboCop’ in there. He’s got no head movement or anything,” Morrell said. “This is really an easy fight for me. I’m going to show him the Cuban boxing skills.”

Benavidez originally came to boxing late as an overweight teenager while his older brother, former welterweight title challenger, Jose Benavidez Jr., received all of the accolades as a standout amateur. 

The pendulum began to shift, however, once Benavidez turned pro in 2013. Four years later, he became the youngest super middleweight titleholder in division history at just 20 when he outpointed Ronald Gavril for the vacant WBC title.

Despite his unbeaten record, Benavidez would go on to lose the WBC title twice at 168 pounds for failing a drug test for cocaine and later for missing weight during the pandemic. But Benavidez has cleaned up his image and work ethic considerably since that time and appears on the verge of true, global stardom whether he ends up eventually securing a fight against Alvarez or not. 

That’s why none of Morrell’s words have done anything but motivate Benavidez to train even harder for the biggest fight of his career. And when it comes to the disrespect shown by his opponent, Benavidez believes his promise of breaking Morrell’s jaw will allow him to ultimately have the last laugh.

“That’ll give him something to remember me by,” Benavidez said. “He knows what he said and that’s exactly what I needed to get me going for this fight. He thinks he’s big and bad, but he’s nothing. I’m gonna show him who’s the best.

“These are the type of fighters I want to fight. I want to face guys who think that they’re going to go in there and knock me out. He’s never fought anyone like me and I’m going to show everyone there’s levels to this.”