David Benavidez’s promoter wants a fight with David Morrell, but he would prefer that match wait just a little longer.
“That fight, it will happen, but we need to marinate like I did with Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.,” Sampson Lewkowicz told BoxingScene.com. “Marinate and everybody make money.”
Benavidez and Morrell were previously both at super middleweight. Benavidez was the longtime mandatory challenger for the WBC title held by champion Canelo Alvarez, while Morrell was mandatory for Canelo’s WBA belt.
With neither landing a bout with Canelo, each instead moved up to 175. Benavidez won a unanimous decision over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June, while Morrell picked up a decision win over Radivoje Kalajdzic earlier this month.
Each of those victories put each of those fighters in a similar position. Now Benavidez and Morrell are mandatory challengers for the WBC and WBA belts, respectively, which will belong to the winner of the October 12 undisputed championship match between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Lewkowicz is expecting Benavidez to return in December 2024, then wants him to face the Beterbiev-Bivol winner in 2025. The Morrell bout would then follow later that year.
“He’ll be a mandatory for Benavidez,” Lewkowicz said. “That is the right way to do it.”
Lewkowicz was asked about Morrell’s performance over Kalajdzic and was diplomatic with his answer.
“It was not his night, put it that way,” Lewkowicz said. “He is much better than he showed.”
Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.