On Feb. 22 in Riyadh, the No. 1 and No. 2 light heavyweights in boxing, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, rematch for the undisputed championship. Three weeks before that, the division’s No. 3 and No. 4 fighters stake their claim for facing the Beterbiev vs. Bivol winner by battling each other.
David Benavidez vs. Davis Morrell is one of the best matchups boxing can deliver in its own right. Not only does it feature two extremely talented fighters, who have arguably been avoided by other big names over the years, but there’s also an intense personal animosity that’s developed between them.
That tension was on full display when WBC interim light heavyweight champion Benavidez and WBA light heavyweight champion Morrell joined Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” for a virtual face-to-face ahead of their Feb. 1 bout at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
“For him, [this fight] is personal,” Morrell said. “So many people [have been] talking bullsh*t on social media, [saying that] I don’t respect [Jose] Benavidez Sr., and him too.
“I [didn’t] say nothing [to Benavidez Sr.] in California [at December’s press conference]. I see him, he’s an intruder, he’s talking sh*t. I say, ‘Eh, it’s not me [talking trash about you].'”
“I don’t care, you disrespected my family,” Benavidez responded. “I’m kicking your ass on Feb 1.”
“I’ve tried to let David Benavidez know what’s up for a long, long time,” Morell continued. “If they don’t want to understand it, then that’s on them. If they want war, then war is what they’re going to get. Right now it’s too late.”
Jose Benavidez Sr., the father and trainer of Benavidez, has said in the build-up to Feb. 1 that his son is training to “hurt Morrell so badly that he will retire after Feb. 1.”
“That’s the mindset that we’re going toward,” Benavidez confirmed. “This is the whole mindset that I’ve been training with this whole camp. [All my opponents say] I don’t have defense, I don’t have nothing, I’m [stiff like] RoboCop, this and that. … Mark my words, all of them end up in the hospital. That’s the same thing I’m going to do to David Morrell.
“All that stuff he was talking about me, once he gets in the ring with me, he’s going to know I’m the best in the world. … My job is to go in there and beat the sh*t out of him, put him in the hospital, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Morrell was less vocal than Benavidez for the virtual faceoff, possibly due to a language barrier for the native Cuban. Although Morrell can speak English, he is far from fluent in the language.
“He has so much stuff to say before the press conference,” Benavidez said. “All this and that, that I’m a RoboCop, that he’s going to knock me out, that I don’t have nothing. But now look at him — he’s scared. He don’t have sh*t to say. What’s up with all that you were saying? How come you’re not saying all that now? You can’t even talk, he’s all nervous. What happened to all that confidence? I’m going to beat the sh*t out of you, watch.”
“You’re the RoboCop,” Morrell reiterated. “I’m ready to fight tomorrow I don’t care.”
Benavidez went on to assert that Morrell’s management team, notably featuring Luis De Cubas, is making more money than Morrell himself for this fight.
“After I beat the sh*t out of you, how are you going to feel that you’re going to make the most money [you’ve ever made] and your f*cking managers are taking all that money?” Benavidez said. “After I beat the sh*t out of you, watch, they’re all going to cash out. Nobody is going to be behind you.”
“The biggest fight that you’re ever going to get, all your managers are getting more money than you,” Benavidez reiterated. “How does that feel? … I thought those people cared about you. F*cking clown.”
“You’re so predictable,” Morrell shot back. “You’re so simple. You’re nothing, man.”
“I’m glad you’re saying that,” Benavidez responded. “After I f*cking stop you, I want you to say that too.”
“After the fight, I’ll say, ‘Let’s go to my [house, I’ll teach] you [how to box],'” Morrell replied.
Benavidez has previously accused Morrell of using performance-enhancing drugs (PED) for past fights and made a point to demand testing with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) for their upcoming February bout.
“We’re on his ass with the VADA testing,” Benavidez said. “I’m not going to say nothing, just look at the track records. I’ve never been accused by anybody [of] using steroids. He’s been accused by [a] few people [of] using steroids. That’s all I’m going to say. What we did this camp is we made sure that no sneaky business is going on and all fighters are being tested.”
Morrell vehemently defended himself against Benavidez’s allegations, claiming that people accuse him of using PEDs after they fight him because his punches are so powerful.
“I’m clean. A lot of people [before the] fight [are always] talking sh*t,” Morrell said. “I knock them out. After the fight, [they’re] saying, ‘He’s doping.’ Why? Bro, it’s training. I’ve sparred with everybody and [nobody has ever said I’m taking steroids]. After they fight me, everybody says, ‘He’s on steroids.’ They can feel my power.”
“You make the fighters [do] VADA [testing] and then you don’t test VADA after the fight,” Benavidez responded. “That’s why they’re saying that. They have to test VADA and then you don’t test VADA after the fight. You don’t test VADA during the camp or [after the] fight.”
“[I’ve been tested] six times in camp in two weeks,” Morrell said. “I’m clean. I don’t need [PEDs].”
“I’m going to watch you on the floor, laid out,” Benavidez said. “That’s what I’m going to watch. … I know you see me in your nightmares, p****, so I’ll see you soon.”
