Taking place at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas will see an excellent boxing clash in the second month of the new year. For this bout, current WBC interim light heavyweight title holder David Benavidez is slated to square off against WBA light heavyweight title champion David Morrell. Per sources, this matchup will be for the respective aforementioned titles and should feature some hard-hitting action on both ends. Both boxers enter this matchup with unblemished records as Benavidez currently boasts a fantastic mark of 29-0 while his opponent has a great body of work in his own right with a mark of 11-0 with nine knockout wins. Each combatant is coming off impressive unanimous decision victories and is looking to make history in this spectacular title matchup.
For this article, SBS will be going over what to look for from each fighter in this matchup, along with a predicted winner, and some additional notes about boxing wagering and more.
Noted above, Benavidez enters this matchup with a spectacular overall mark of 29-0, what’s more, this includes a stellar 24 knockouts. He has held his current title since June 2024, having previously held the WBC super middleweight title twice between 2017 and 2020. Additionally, noted in other reports, having claimed his first title at 20 years, and eight months, Benavidez holds the record as the youngest super-middleweight title holder in history. Additionally, as of this article’s writing, he is ranked second by The Ring magazine, second by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and fourth by BoxRec. In his last outing, the American fighter faced Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the interim WBC light heavyweight strap at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Benavidez would go on to win this fight via unanimous decision.
Prior to that fight, Benavidez had a fantastic showdown against “southpaw phenom” and former WBO champion, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade. In this matchup, Andrade made a great effort against the champion by firing back as often and as much as he could against Benavidez’s “signature forward pressure.” However, after suffering six rounds of accumulated damage, Andrade did not come out of his corner for the seventh round, thus making Benavidez the winner by way of sixth-round stoppage. Prior to this stellar outing against Andrade, he also scored an awesome unanimous decision win over Caleb Plant and a great TKO win over David Lemieux in the matchup prior to that. Of course, this matchup might be his toughest yet against an undefeated and younger opponent.
An awesome amateur fighter, Morrell compiled a record of 130-5 and also won gold medals at the 2016 Youth World Championships during his amateur run. Since then, he has of course continued his winning ways as a professional with an unblemished career mark heading into this showdown with Benavidez. In his last fight against Radivoje Kalajdzic, he was able to defeat his opponent by way of unanimous decision and won the vacant WBA “Regular” light heavyweight title. A strong fighter, he had won his prior seven fights by way of knockout or TKO. Prior to his last outing, Morrell had made six consecutive defenses of the WBA (Regular) super-middleweight title prior to moving up to light heavyweight.
A ferocious combatant, he has definitely put fear into the hearts of his opponents. Specifically, after defending his title on November 5, 2022, against Aidos Yerbossynuly, his opponent was hospitalized and put into an induced coma due to a subdural hematoma following a 12th-round knockout. Additionally, his last bout prior to Kalajdzic saw him score a TKO win over Sena Agbeko in the second round of the contest. Of course, Morrell’s ferocity is well known with well over a hundred wins in his boxing career (amateur and pro) so this matchup could come down to a knockout decision on either side of the ring. Additionally, it would appear that while Benavidez has more experience at the light heavyweight level (by a couple months), Morrell has been consistently dominant throughout his pro career so this matchup will be a spectacular one.
A close battle for sure, Benavidez gets the slight edge here given his more extensive body of work at the current light heavyweight level, but this matchup is critically close. That said, take the veteran Benavidez to take down Morrell given his overall more impressive victories in his pro career.
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About the Author
Chris Boline is a Reno-based business development professional and freelance sports writer with over a decade of experience covering the NBA G League, Los Angeles Chargers, and national football and basketball. His expertise spans the NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and motorsports, along with topical news, marketing, and promotional content. A proud University of Nevada graduate, Chris earned both his BS in Management & Economics (2015) and MBA (2023). He is active in the Reno community, serving on boards such as the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET, and the College of Business Alumni Association, where he was past president (2022–23). Notable honors include: - Two-time University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year honoree (2017, 2021) - 2021 NCET Professional Services Organization of the Year (with TAC) - 2016–17 Reno Bighorns MVP, awarded by the Sacramento Kings - Nevada Press Association Award for Best Sports Column (2015) - Former Editor-in-Chief of The Nevada Sagebrush Chris blends his passion for sports with a strong background in sales, marketing, and community engagement.
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