Jim Lampley Praises David Benavidez's Win Over David Morrell

Whenever you earn the praise of Jim Lampley, it's nothing to scoff at.

Lampley, who was a legendary broadcaster for HBO Boxing and now an analyst for PPV.com, broke down David Benavidez's unanimous decision win over David Morrell on Saturday and called it the best of "The Mexican Monster's" career over wins like Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade.

"I think that Morrell is a better opponent than Andrade and Caleb Plant," Lampley said. "And I like Caleb Plant, and we're friends, but at the end of the day, I think this was a higher talent level with Morrell. You're talking about a counterpuncher with power, with Cuban technique training and stuff like that. So I think this is Benavidez's most impressive win so far."

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) vs. Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) lived up to the billing with two undefeated champions in their prime fighting each other. The previously unbeaten Morrell held his own in the beginning stages of the fight, even rocking Benavidez momentarily in the fourth round.

But Benavidez's pace and volume eventually wore down Morrell and allowed him to take over in the second half of the fight, outlanding Morrell in every round except for the 11th. Morrell got a flash knockdown of Benavidez late in the 11th round, but rather than get a 10-8 round, the Cuban southpaw lost a point for landing a punch well after the bell.

Benavidez recovered and landed 22 of 45 punches compared to 14 of 62 for Morrell in the 12th round. Benavidez out-landed Morrell in 10 of the 12 rounds. Benavidez landed 224 of his 553 punches (40.5 percent), per CompuBox stats. Among his 224 punches landed, 181 were power punches and 76 were to the body.

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With the win, Benavidez now has his sights set on the undisputed light heavyweight title. Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol will fight again on Feb. 22 after their highly contested rematch

Now, Benavidez can set his sights on the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 on Feb. 22 in Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev won the first bout by majority decision on Oct. 12, though, many believed Bivol won.

While Benavidez would be an underdog against either, Lampley believes "The Mexican Monster" will more than have a chance against Beterbiev and Bivol.

"I wouldn't rule out David beating either or both," Lampley said.

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