Does Benavidez crack under pressure? Morrell reveals pre-fight jitters

David Morrell says ‘”Mexican monster” David Benavidez shouldn’t be “scared” and making pre-fight excuses ahead of his Feb. 1 light heavyweight bout. Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) spoke about his concerns about Morrell’s VADA testing.

Desperate measures

Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) sees interim WBC 175 lb champion Benavidez cooking PED excuse to explain ‘what went wrong’ to his fans after losing a fight. If he tells fans he thinks Morrell, 26, was dirty, they’ll be sympathetic and won’t abandon him in droves.

With no excuse to explain away the loss, fans will jump over the sinking Benavidez ship, like the rats leave the tottering vessel on the open sea. It might be impossible for him to get them back unless he can come up with an excuse they will believe.

Many were ready to give Benavidez a pass for his last fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk when he said he was battling injuries. No x-rays were shown to confirm the injuries, but fans still believed him because this was the first time.

Let’s hope Benavidez shows class if he loses and doesn’t talk about his suspicions without any supporting information to prove them.

Cuba’s Morrell says Benanavidez spent his entire career fighting guys who weren’t on his level, but now that he’s facing someone on his level, he’s scared and taking PEDs to soften the blow if he gets beat.

Benavidez’s uncertainty

“You shouldn’t be afraid. All his life he fought against fighters who are not on his level. This is what happens when they are scared. They start using excuses from all sides,” said David Morrell for Sean Zittelresponding to a conversation about VADA testing ahead of their February 1st fight.

This is the first time in Benavidez’s 12-year pro career that he’s fought someone in a 50-50 fight, and it’s surprising that he stooped to this level to spark the PED conversation. Is it a mind game for Benavidez to gain a much-needed advantage against the younger, faster, stronger and more talented Morrell?

You can totally understand why Benavidez would be worried about this fight. If he loses, his dreams of a mega-million dollar Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitri Bivol 2 rematch will be gone, and he’ll never get a chance to fight Canelo Alvarez either. He would be just one of the candidates at 175 years old, he would be fighting in the salt mines, he wouldn’t be making a lot of money.