Heavy pressure and a nonstop body attack carried David Benavidez to a decision victory over David Morrell Jr in tonight’s PBC on Prime PPV main event.
The back-and-forth opening rounds saw Benavidez (30-0, 24 KO) push forward as Morrell (11-1, 9 KO) looked to back him off with explosive combinations. Morrell was confident enough to taunt throughout the early going, but Benavidez seemed to be building momentum well ahead of schedule before Morrell rocked him badly with a counter right in the fourth.
Benavidez quickly regained his footing and fought his way back into the groove. Though Morrell continued to fire eye-catching bursts of offense, Benavidez’s patient pressure, accuracy, and defense had him in a commanding position going into the championship rounds.
Reeling in the eleventh, Morrell once again caught Benavidez coming in, this time forcing his gloves to hit the canvas. Benavidez beat the count and looked to answer back with one of his trademark massive flurries against the ropes, to which Morrell responded with a blatant shot after the bell.
Having lost a point and undone the knockdown, Morrell came out firing in the final round, only for Benavidez to meet him head-on and rock him in return. The two continued exchanging to the bitter end, after which Benavidez walked away with scores of 115-111 (x2) and 118-108. Our own Wil Esco also had it 115-111, 8-4 with the knockdown and point deduction.
After a terrific effort, Benavidez now finds himself in position to challenge the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2. It’s a major setback for Morrell, but he’s still a player in the extremely top-heavy division.