Benavidez’s long-arm pose is a challenge for Morrell, Andrade says

Demetrius Andrade questions whether WBA ‘regular’ welterweight champion David Morrell has the long enough arms to get around guard David Benavidez when they meet on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Benavidez’s reach

Andrade had trouble punching through Benavidez’s guard due to his long arms in their fight last year and was eventually stopped in the sixth round. He was surprised by Benavidez’s enormous size, and he was too big for him.

Cuba’s Morrell has a much larger reach than Benavidez, by 78 inches compared to his 74,” so he shouldn’t have the same problems as Andrade. Demetrius began his pro career at 154 and moved up to 168 in 2023. He only fought once in the weight class against Demond Nicholson before facing Benavidez.

Benavidez’s reach, weight and youth gave Andrade problems. He looked much heavier, like a light heavyweight or cruiserweight fighting a middleweight.

“Because he was a big, strong guy, he could absorb it. He was much heavier than me,” said Demetrius Andrade Fight Hub TV on his loss to David Benavidez on November 25, 2023.

“After that fight (Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk at 175), he said, ‘I can still make 168,’ because he felt the weight difference. He (Benavidez) wouldn’t be able to do what he can when he’s not a weight abuser.

“Now he’s in a good match against David Morrell. They are two guys of the same size. I think David Morrell is talented. I don’t know if he has the experience to really beat David. (Morrell) is a big kid. He has decent speed but is a bit wild with his shots. That comes with experience, of course.”

Benavidez didn’t look good in his debut at 175 against Oleksandr Gvozdyk last summer on June 15 and was outmatched the entire fight by the stronger fighter. His power looked weak for the weight and he was lucky to get the decision. If Gvozdyk was a more popular fighter, he would have been awarded the win because he had better punches.

Can Morrell adapt?

“David (Benavidez) has long arms. Morrell is bigger than me,” Andrade said. “When you hit him (Benavidez) with your hands, his hands are so long that it’s hard to hit him. You have to pinpoint your shots against him. I don’t know if Morrell has it in him.

“I’m a shooter, and David managed to block many of my shots with his length. So you have to set him up with some clean, walking trap shots,” Andrade said