Speaker 1: Well, it is my great pleasure to once again welcome
to our podcast the outstanding light heavyweight David Benavidez. David,
thank you very much for joining us. We're going to
talk about your big fight, but first welcome.
Speaker 2: How you doing. I'm doing good man. You know, right
now two weeks away from the fight. You know it's
a really big fight. Very excited. You know, there's a
lot of emotions going towards this fight, and I'm very excited.
Speaker 3: You're very excited to put on a great performance of
the crowd.
Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell the listeners what the particulars are. You're
you're at a pretty big showdown yourself against the fellow
undefeated David Morrell February first. That's the main event of
the PBC pay per view on Prime Video, also available
on PPV dot com, at T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
I think it's a great matchup, but I wanted to
ask you, like, I feel like this is one of
the best fights that could be made in boxing, regardless
of whatever the weight class or you know, talking pound
for pound or unifications or titles or what have you.
You've been steadfast as long as I've been interviewing you
for many years that you always want to be in
great fights? Do you want to fight top opponents? And
it feels like this is truly one of those types
of fights. What is your thoughts when I tell you that,
When I say that.
Speaker 3: To you, yeah, this is definitely how it feels for
me as well. You know, like I.
Speaker 2: Said, each fight keeps getting bigger and bigger for me,
and also with that, you know, the challenge should keep
getting harder and harder. So for me as a fighter
that I am, you know, I want to show everybody
that I'm the best in the world. So my main
job is to get harder and harder fights as my
career goes on.
Speaker 3: And this is what's going on now.
Speaker 2: You know, this is a fighter that you know, a
lot of people said that, you know, I just shouldn't
have I didn't have to take I didn't have to
take this fight basically, but for me, I felt like
this is the fight that I had to take to
prove myself to the world who I am. And David Morrell,
he doesn't have a lot of fights, but he definitely
has a good pedigree of boxing. You know, he's has
a great trainer and I feel like this is the
perfect time to make this fight happen. You know, two
of the best light heavyweights, and to go in there
and only one day will come out, and that day
there's gonna be David benweds Well.
Speaker 1: Like you mentioned, this is a light heavyweight fight, but
it's gonna be the second fight in the world class
for both of you.
Speaker 3: Guys.
Speaker 1: Now, you had your first fight and you beat a
very fine fighter and a former world champion and Alexander
Vodzik back in June. I know there were some injury
issues both before the fight as well as then again
in the fight. I believe he said you tore a
ligament in your right hand. You then suffered an injury
to your left hand during the fight. So are you
good to go? Are you healthy? Is that a problem
any of that stuff going into this fight.
Speaker 3: No, none of that is a problem for this fight.
Speaker 2: And now I.
Speaker 3: Feel like I feel really good because I get to
redeem myself from that victory. I get to go in here.
Speaker 2: You know, I worked straining conditioning with Memo already. MYDA
hand has been good. We after the fight, we let
it heel for about three months, so the ligament is good.
Now the left the left knuckle is good, and everything
is is one hundred percent. And now I'm just I'm
just looking forward to going there and getting people what
they want to see.
Speaker 1: All right, So you won, I mean you're saying you
have to redeem yourself for a win. I mean, okay,
maybe you didn't look awesome in that fight, but you're
sure as heck win a one pretty handily. Now he
is also coming off of a win in his first
light heavyweight fight. He beat hot Rode Collegiate, who had
fought for the world title in the past. That was
back in August on the Terrence Crawford Israel Majimov card.
Uh not not. I think even David Merrell would admit
not his finest performance, even though we obviously was the
clear winner. I wonder when you check that fight out,
I assume you've looked at least some of that. What
works your takeaway on on how he performed in the
light heavyweight division.
Speaker 2: So, first of all, before I get to that, when
I say redeem myself, it's basically me, I'm giving my own,
you know, opinion of myself.
Speaker 3: Now I get to go in this fight.
Speaker 2: With no injuries, you know, I'm gonna be at one
hundred percent, you know, and that's something I didn't have
my last fight.
Speaker 3: You know, I would I didn't feel hundred percent.
Speaker 2: So now me going into this fight, I've been working
extremely hard.
Speaker 3: The striking additioning has picked up really good too.
Speaker 2: Now I get to go under to see how I
really feel at light heavyweight.
Speaker 3: So this is definitely gonna let me uh, you.
Speaker 2: Know, it's gonna let everybody know how I really am
as a light heavyweight. And but for David Morrell, I
felt like, you know, his last fight, you know it,
he probably overlooked, you know, hot Rod. So I feel
like with my fight, he's not overlooking me. So he's
gonna come in more prepared. But I've seen a lot
of flaws in his game, you know, especially with the
guy like hot Rod.
Speaker 3: I don't really think, you.
Speaker 2: Know, he's a big puncher like that, but hot Row
was getting him with some good shots. He all boxed
or he all boxed him at times, he pressured him,
you know at times as well.
Speaker 3: So I feel like, you.
Speaker 2: Know, the hot Rod definitely showed me something that could
be taking advantage of with David Merrew. You know, David
Meryl is a good fighter, but there's also a lot
of a lot of things that you know, I could
do myself to take advantage of him.
Speaker 1: Now, I know both of you guys would have loved
to have a fight with Canelo. He was the mandatory
in the WBA. Obviously you were the mandatory in the WBC.
You never got that fight. So I'm talking to you
right now now, to David Merrell. So I wonder when
you hear that there's a chance now that after all
the time the Canelo declined to fight you, he's now
gonna be fighting Prence Crawford, who's a great fighter, a
future Hall of Fame fighter, without question. But it was
his first championship was a lightweight. Now he's holding a
title at junior middleweight. He's now gonna go up two
more weight classes to super middleweight. How does that make
you feel that you couldn't get a fight with him
in his own weight class, You got to go up
to light heavyweight. But he's now going to fight a
guy that's really basically been a welterweight for a long
long time.
Speaker 2: You know, I think now it's it's really apparent that
Canelo does whatever he wants to do, and he plays
by his own rules.
Speaker 3: He's a great champion.
Speaker 2: I take nothing away from him, but you know, he's
been fighting smaller guys from smaller weight classes, have been
making him come up. But you know, I guess if
that's what they want to do, and that's that's in
their plans, and they could do whatever they want. I
feel like the ones weren't the opportunity to fight him,
you know, where it was me, you know, and then
it's the biggest fight that could be made happen.
Speaker 3: But I also think I also.
Speaker 2: Know that Connelo knows that this is a most dataous
fight that he can make for himself.
Speaker 3: Because this fight is a fifty to fifty fight. You know,
Canelo is a great fighter.
Speaker 2: I know what he could do, but I also know
what I could do as well, and he knows that
David Benevis is the most dangerous fighter.
Speaker 3: For him out there.
Speaker 2: That being said, you know, that's not going to stop
me in my trajectory in my career. You know, That's
why I want to take these big fights because I
was already planning to put myself in.
Speaker 3: The fire anyways, you know, So for me to compete
at that level. I'm just going against anybody who is
a Whols they say is the best in my division,
and I will end up, you know, victorious.
Speaker 2: And I think like that, you know, just weren't just
staying in my lane and you know, just trying to
win these titles and being the best in my division.
I think that could potentially make the fight with me
and Canelo even bigger, because if I clean out the
one seventy five pound division and Canelo, he's gonna need
somebody to fight, you know, once he runs out of
all his opponents, you know, I think then that makes
the perfect storm and make this fight even bigger.
Speaker 1: Well, you mentioned before about how David Morrell may not
have that many fights. He's eleven and zero. Obviously you're
a twenty nine to oh, so there's a big difference
in terms of the number of doubts. But he has
that Cuban amateur background. But his resume compared to yours,
you fought a lot of good guys, particularly in recent fights.
He doesn't have that level of name, even though I
think most people identify him as a very good, skillful,
excellent fighter. But I wonder you know, you have had
that run where you. You beat Caleb Plan, you beat
Demetris Andre, two guys that were world champs. You beat Vojik,
who was a light heavyweight champion. I wonder how important
do you think for this fight is your significant amounts
of additional professional experience and being battle tested against really
good opponents in the last few years compared to what
David's been in with.
Speaker 3: It's definitely gonna play a big role. I think that's
what you know, these.
Speaker 2: Young fighters that they don't understand that you need that
experience and you know.
Speaker 3: And you need to see how these great fighters move.
Speaker 2: Up close and personal. For this being David morrele first
big fight, you know, I think he's gonna come out here,
come out the fast, come out to fight.
Speaker 3: And start fast.
Speaker 2: But you know, you really learned that experience, you know,
in these big fights.
Speaker 3: So I'm definitely gonna use all experience.
Speaker 2: I've learned and now all the experience I've gained to
my advantage, and you know, I'm gonna make I'm definitely
gonna make David Merle suffer in that ring.
Speaker 1: It feels like when you did your press conference that
there was some good animosity. There is there is that
something real to that or is just that you guys
are just amped up for a fight.
Speaker 3: It's a little bit of bolt, you know, where everything
is real. You know, we're really amped up. So I
think that's why you know.
Speaker 2: That every time we get in each other's face, it
gets amped up that much because he doesn't like me,
I don't like him, and we got to and it's
a big fight at the end of the day.
Speaker 3: So you know. But at the end of the day,
you know, now that this is my fourth pay per
view fight, I see that this is what sells.
Speaker 2: The fights, and this is what people love to see,
and you know, it just makes for a bigger fight,
makes for a bigger, better fight. You people want to
see two guys that don't like each other going.
Speaker 3: In there trying to take each other's head off.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So if you go back to I believe it was
April of twenty twenty three, he scored a first round
knockout against Falco and you were in the crowd that night,
you were sitting the ringside, and he was calling you
out in his interview on TV after that fight, and
then your promoters said that you were going to fight
each other in December of that year, and it didn't happen.
You ended up having the Dimitris Andre fight instead. I
wonder what happened to you fighting David at that point?
Speaker 2: You know, the way I'm moving my career right now,
I was taking the bigger fights.
Speaker 1: But do you think that Demitrius Demitri Demetris is a
bigger fight at that point than fighting mar Yeah, okay, and.
Speaker 3: Especially David Marraau at that time.
Speaker 2: I think he had like eight fights something like that.
Speaker 3: So you know, the plan was, you.
Speaker 2: Know, the way my career has been going to trajecting
my career, you know, it's been Anthony Dureau, It's been
Caleb Planned.
Speaker 3: Demetris Andre Bosic.
Speaker 2: So I've been fighting the bigger fighters, the more established fighters.
But that's why I wasn't really in a rush to,
you know, to fight David Meryl. And at the end
of the day, he didn't really beat nobody. He hasn't
beat anybody, you know what I mean. So I'm beating
the guys who actually beat people, you know. So for me,
But like I said, everything happens at its perfect time,
especially with this fight, you know. I mean, I've had
a run of great performances. Now they had there's this
guy and people say, almost dug him supposedly. You know,
I've never dug nobody. But it's good that sells. That
sells a fight as well. So now I had the
run of the great fights and now everything like this
fight is just happening at the perfect time. And then
after this fight, you know, now we we go on
some bigger and better things.
Speaker 1: So what's one of the things that's sort of interesting
about this fight is I mean, you're it's a great matchup,
regardless of titles and all that other business. But the
reality is you are the WBC's interim champion. He is
the WBA's regular champion. But everybody knows that it's Arthur
better be Off who's the you know, to no disrespect
the real champion, the undisputed champion, got all the main belts,
just beat Dimitri Bevoal in a close contest. Uh, And
they're having a rematch. And so I wonder, does the
fact that the interim belt that you have and the
regular belt that you can win, how is that meaningful
to you? Or is it just do you want to
take on a really good opponent?
Speaker 2: No, you know, that is definitely that was also motivation
to fight David Mooryl too, because at the end of
the day, those belts and belts to me, you know
what I mean, that's one step closer to getting closer
to the big price.
Speaker 3: And you know, I'm very grateful for, you know, being
in the position I am.
Speaker 2: But I get after this fight, I get to add
two more titles in my collection. A lot of people
never win those in their in their careers, so they definitely.
Speaker 1: Do mean a lot to me, okay, And so that's
that's leads me to the next question. Then I mentioned
Arthur better, be Yvan Dmitri Biebo. They're set for a
rematch on February twenty second. The WBC said at their
convention in December, you are the mandatory and that means
that the winner of the fight between you and Morel
is going to have that position. And so I wonder
what your thoughts are about me knowing that this fight
is very important unto itself, but that the possibility exists
that the winner of this fight is going to land
a shot at the undisputed title against the winner of
what takes place on February twenty second, which would of
course be a mega fight regardless of which guy wins
on February twenty second, how closely are you going to
follow that out and how big of a deal is
it for you to get that shot?
Speaker 3: Yeah, So, like I said, I'm staying in my lane.
You know, I'm going.
Speaker 2: Up against the best fighters in.
Speaker 3: My division, and you know I'm really truly living by that.
Speaker 2: You know the prize, you know, greatness is on the
other side of this door, you know what I mean,
And it's going to be an opportunity for me to
win all four titles. So you know, I don't care
who it is is, Dimitri Biebel or Archer Betterby, if
they're both great fighters, I'll sending fighters. But like I said,
winning Vegle with the win with David Morrell is gonna
put me in position to fight for all four belts
and you know, make one of my dreams come true.
Speaker 1: Well, first you gotta take on morel So I'll wrap
up with this. I know you feel like you're gonna
win the fight, obviously, I wonder when you're in mine,
how do you envision the scenario in terms of the
way you win the fight, Like, what's your best scenario?
Speaker 2: To be honest with me, every time I go into
a fight, I'm always thinking.
Speaker 3: About the knockout. Whether I get it or not. You know,
it's we're gonna have to see that night. But me,
the way I fight, I go in there.
Speaker 2: And I try to flick as much damage as possible.
You know, these fights are not just boxing fights for me.
I actually go in there and try to take their
soul from them. And that's exactly what I tend on doing.
Like I said, I was gonna break David Merrel's face,
and I'm really actually gonna try to do that. And
like I said, I want to send a message to
people to let everybody know that the Mexican Monster's here.
Speaker 1: You're gonna be ringside for February twenty second. If you're
a winner on February.
Speaker 2: First, maybe I still have to make that decision day,
but I maybe will.
Speaker 1: All right, well, I wish you good luck on February first.
I look forward to seeing you at the fight and
taking care of business. You know, you guys put on
a great matchup on February first. On Date Review, David,
thank you very much for your time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you as well. You bet