Teddy Atlas Predicts David Benavidez vs David Morrell Fight

Few understand the history of boxing better than Teddy Atlas.

The legendary trainer and boxing analyst broke down the highly anticipated light heavyweight title bout between David Benavidez and David Morrell. While he noted how hotly contested he believes the fight will be between the unbeaten champions, he gave the slight edge to Benavidez by decision.

"I'm going to take Benavidez," Atlas said.

"I'm saying that he's going to win the fight, probably by decision. He's going to be busier and he's going to be tightened up, buttoned up, enough not to leave himself open to the power of the southpaw, Morrell... He's not going to get caught, and if he does, he will get caught [with] two big ones in a row. He's talked he's got a good chin. He'll survive it, but at the end of the day to be able [use] his offense mixed in with enough defense, to get the job done."

Atlas didn't dismiss Morrell's chances, though. Ultimately, if Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) will pull off the slight upset, Atlas believes the Cuban southpaw will have to hurt Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) to compensate for the work rate the former two-time super middleweight champion typically fights at.

" I think that Morrell, the chances are for him to win, he's got to hurt Benavidez," Atlas said. "See, I don't think he's going to outwork Benavidez. I think Benavidez's work level [and] punch numbers if you will, are higher. I don't think he's getting outworked. But you can beat a guy without outworking him. You can hurt him. You can land the cleaner, more effective punches because that's what the criteria with pro boxing is. Who lands the cleaner, more effective punches."

David Morrell threw his belt at David Benavidez after a heated face-off 😳 #BenavidezMorrell

(via @OsvaryJ) pic.twitter.com/02JggIICFc
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) December 18, 2024

While both are aggressive fighters, they apply that aggression in different ways. Benavidez, 28, prefers to break his opponents down with his volume and constantly force them to hold them off. His stamina also proved to be a key strength at super middleweight, though, he did fade a little bit in the latter stages of his light heavyweight debut before defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk by unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 119-109).

Morrell, 27, is much more of a sharpshooter and dynamic puncher. That dynamic punching ability led him to begin his career 10-0 with 9 knockouts. He also overcame some rough patches in his light heavyweight debut to defeat former title challenger Radivoje Kalajdzic by unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 118-110)

MORE: David Morrell's Manager Believes David Benavidez Is 'Made To Order'

The pace and style of the fight will likely be the difference. Either way, with how Benavidez and Morrell's style match up, fans could be in for fireworks when the undefeated light heavyweight champions face off.

Benavidez vs. Morrell takes place on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card for the pay-per-view begins at 8 p.m. ET.

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