David Benavidez and David Morrell both went up to light heavyweight after being unable to land a bout with Canelo Alvarez at super middleweight, and now they may be headed straight at one another.
Salvador Rodriguez reports that “there is a lot of interest on the part of” the fighters as far as making a fight happen for January.
Benavidez vs Morrell would be an excellent early-year fight for boxing fans, who often get left out in the cold during the winter months.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) moved up to 175 lbs with a win over former titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15, claiming the interim WBC title. Morrell (11-0, 9 KO) went up on Aug. 3, beating Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic, netting a secondary WBA belt, which is about equal to an “interim” but isn’t actually an interim, because the WBA has those, too, as it is an idiot organization.
Both Davids were faced with smart, crafty foes for their light heavyweight debuts, and both had to go the distance.
With the four major world titles locked up between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol — who meet on Oct. 12 — and the money man Canelo potentially sniffing around the division again for next year, Benavidez, 27, and Morrell, 26, just don’t have anyone better or bigger to fight than one another. Morrell has repeatedly made the challenge to Benavidez in the past, and it appears he may get what he wants.