Former two-division world champion Antonio Tarver believes David Morel may need a knockout to beat WBC in eight days at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on February 1 Interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez.

If Benavidez defeats Morel, as he does with all his opponents, he could be knocked out in the first round by the Cuban talent.

Morrell has more strength and technical ability, allowing Benavidez to fight in the raw style he’s accustomed to from his days of bully-pounding Fossil at 168. Benavidez has built his career on weak matches, fighting far below his massive cruiserweight size.

Tarver believes Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) has too much size and pro experience for former Cuban amateur star Morel (11-0, 9 KOs) to compete in Overcome him without knocking him down. If Morel falls behind significantly in this fight, Benavidez’s output will make it difficult for Morel to win the decision.

Benavidez’s habit of landing shots frequently may be his undoing in this fight, as his chin is at risk and gets hit frequently. He relied on his output to overwhelm his opponents, which was effective as he fought most of the smaller fighters in his 11 years at 168.

Morel is a stronger boxer than anyone Benavidez has ever fought and will be a knockout threat in this fight. He’s going to have plenty of opportunities to hurt Benavidez because he’s so used to fighting older, smaller fighters. He’d only fought one guy his size, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and got really pounded by that fighter. He was wounded physically by Gvozdyk.

Need a knockout?

Antonio Tarver said on his YouTube channel: “I think Morel needs one or two more tests before he can deal with the ability, power and confidence of David Benavidez.” Taverstek On February 1, David Benavidez faced David Morrell in an eight-day fight.

“I think David Morel has to find that shot that not only drops but creates a concussion. He has to knock David Benavidez out. Sometimes you can make some fighters quit. I think you There’s no way to get any of these fighters to quit.

“Sometimes you have to knock them down and I feel like this is the type of fight where, in order to secure the win, one of the guys has to finish from the distance. David Benavidez is going to have a little bit of a reach and size advantage (Correction : The 6-foot-1 Morel has a four-inch reach advantage (the 6-foot-2 Benavidez is an inch taller and probably heavier).

It sounds like Tarver drank the Kool-Aid and believed what other Benavidez fans said about him. If you take away the abuse that Benavidez’s followers have thrown at him and take a closer look at his A. massive size and B. the smaller, older opponents he beat, you’ll see that he’s just a typical weight Bullies.

“I think this is going to be one of the most talented fighters Benavidez has ever faced,” Tarver said. “Morrell is very talented. Experience. Guys like Caleb Plant, Benavidez has faced those types of fighters. The light heavyweight he (against) is (Alexander Gvozdyk) ) is very powerful.”

You can’t get too hyped about Benavidez beating Caleb Plant because Canelo Alvarez beat him much better than he did. Plant won the first five rounds against Benavidez and fought him hard on skill alone. Canelo dominated Plant and knocked him down.

You could hype Benavidez if Plant had the power and wasn’t knocked out by Canelo before the fight. He beat Plant no better than Canelo and lost nearly every fight in the first six rounds. He was exposed by Plant. If this is what you’re going to measure against Benavidez and use as a reason for him to beat Morel, then you’re not thinking clearly.

body attack button

“He didn’t knock him out, but he was able to go the distance,” Morel said of Benavidez’s fight with Gvozdyk. “If you think about who can stop who, I think David Benavidez’s physical attack. If he can focus on that early and have some success, it will really help his development later on. And Morell There was no sustained physical attack and I think it was mainly him headhunting.

“When you transition from amateur to pro, you need to sit down and take those punches and get physical. That’s why I recommend any boxer invest in this body. If you see one of these guys coming down early in the morning, look for lifts. hand man.

“When you go to a body, you have to take risks. You have to be aware enough to know when you’re in a safe place. You can’t put your hands down and be with any of these people when you’re trying to tear the body apart. Together. Both guys are great counterattackers,” Tarver said.