My next guest is the interim WBC light Heavyweight Champion with the record of twenty nine and oer with twenty four KOs. He set to take on WBA Light Heavyweight Champion David Morrell Jr. In a match that has been dubbed the Battle of the Unbeatens. Please welcome the man affectionately known as the Mexican Monster, a man who, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best of the world, deserves any big fight that's out there. I'm talking about David Benavidez himself. What's going on, big time?
How are you, man? How's everything?
I'm doing?
Good, brother, just right here, blessed, counting down to days for next week.
Listen, man, all right, listen.
I tell this to everybody that will listen, not that I'm breaking any news here. I consider you to be one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world. I think that you should be in major, major fights all the time because you're just that dude. I'm wondering how hard is it for you to get motivated for fights, knowing there's so many big time fights that you deserve, and there's so many people hesitant to give it to.
You, to be honest with you, it's not really that motivating. I mean not really hard to stay motivated. You know, I'm at the end of the day, I want to be one of the greatest fighters in my generation when I retire. So every fight, you know, I'm coming in there with with tremendous motivation. You know, there's a lot of fights out there that I feel like I deserve, but I feel like, with time, will get every single one of those fights.
When we're looking at David Morrell, I mean I've seen I've seen the you know, just the hypes, just the hypeen of the fights before, you know, y'all standing face to face promoting the fight and stuff like that. We say this a lot in terms of guys that don't seem to really like each other. Y'all definitely come across that way. Tell my audience what you know about this kid, what you think about this kid, and why you decided to get in the ring with him for this fight.
So, David Meryl is a good fighter, you know, he's he's a he has a really big amateur background from Cuba. He's a really technical fighter, skilled fighter. A lot of fighters, you know, we're ducking him. They didn't want to fight him. But for me being more I am, I said, hey, give me the hardest fight that's on the table, and that's how we landed on David Morrel. I think he's a good fighter, but I'm a great fighter and I'm gonna just go in there and show what level on money on February first.
So what's all of this noise he's been talking talking smack to you? Do you think it's just a promotional thing or does he seem to have some healthy level of dislike for you?
What do you make of it?
You know, I just feel like, you know, it's two fighters that just don't like each other. You know, I don't like him, he doesn't like me. He thinks he could beat me. I know I could beat him. So you know, it's just two fighters. You know, once it gets to the stage, you know, this type of thing happens, you know, I mean, two fighters that really don't like each other and to go in there and go to war on February first.
Listen, the guy is skilled. There's no doubt he's got a link the amateur background. He is undefeated as well, but he only has eleven fights and I'm wondering, what the hell is it deal with eleven fights? How is he worthy of being in the ring with David Benavidez. How do you answer that to the viewers?
So the thing I'm most that I'm after the most is WBA. You know, at the end of the day, the titles are still the title for me, and after this fight, this puts me in position to fight for all the belts I won seventy five, you know. So for him people saying it's inexperience, you know, it really doesn't matter to me. He was the one calling me out. He's the one that said I was ducking him. So now he has to pay for all the words he says.
Talking to David Benaviza's right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show.
Where do you feel you are right now in your career? I mean, I've watched you beat Caleb Plan, I've watched you beat Demetrius andre I thought that would be a tougher fight than then it was made out to be by you, of course, a lot easier than I thought, along with others.
And now you've got this fight.
How do you view yourself in boxing at this particular moment in time to.
Be honest with you.
Right now, I feel like I'm on the trajectory great to greatness. You know, I've been telling everybody that I'm gonna beat these fighters, and I've been showing that off with good performances.
Now after this fight.
I'm fighting for all the I'm gonna be fighting for all the undisputed belts at won seventy five. And like I said, I just want to be great, and that's exactly one would do by time my career is done.
I marveled at you because first of all, you got power in both hands, you got speed in both hands.
Obviously you're you're you're just elite.
What shocks me about you is I look at you and I say, sometimes I get scared for you because I'm like, he just keeps coming.
I mean, it's like he's inviting you to hit him. It doesn't phaze him.
I've never seen you hurt, And I wonder, is that the wisest strategy you.
Think it is for you to employ.
It is the sport of boxing, and you gotta knockout power on both hands. You've got a tremendous jab. Whenever you want to use it, you can use it. And use it effectively. Why do you find yourself taking punches sometimes when it's absolutely not necessary for you to do that, because you got the skills to avoid getting hit.
To be honest with you, sometimes you got to put yourself in those situations where you're trying to You're trying to get a counter punch from the bonit, you know, because like I said, I like to go in there and I like to hurt people as much as possible, So I like to punch it between the punches.
But sometimes, you know, I I feel like my defense is a little bit underrated.
You know. Sometimes it may look like I get hit, but I don't really get hit that much. If you look at my stats, you know, my defense, you know, is amazing. I don't really get touched that much.
Of my fights got you.
We gotta can't talk to you without talking about Canelo Alvarez because that's the fight we all want to see and it hasn't happened.
We've been waiting for it to happen.
Every time you go into the ring against somebody, you've got to win because one loss could prevent you from getting the match that we all know you want so badly. Why do you believe Canelo Alvarez refuses to fight you.
Because he knows that I'm the hardest fight.
You know, he knows that once he steps in that ring with me, that all his accomplishments, all his titles, are gonna league with me.
I told you, I'm not playing with nobody.
I'm the best fighter in the world, and whoever it is, if it might, if it fits Canelo or to better be of the ball, I'm beating all those guys, those guys, I'm signing a chance with me.
He has said that your constant provocations, your defiant language, et cetera, may have played the role in the decision to avoid a match with you, play the role in his decision to avoid a match with two. You keep talking and he don't like the way you talk about him, and that's why he's not fighting you.
Yet, what do you make of that man?
That's like, you know what I mean. At the end of the day, I'm not trying to be his friend. I'm trying to go in there and take all accomplishments. At the end of the day, he knows what time it is, he knows what the hardest fight is, and that's why he's avoiding me. He can say all this and that, but at the end of the day, he knows that I will be him when he gets in that ring movie.
That's why he doesn't want to fight with me.
When you look at boxing today, one of the things I don't think anybody would deny about you. You give no one the impression that there is any fight whatsoever that you will avoid. You'll fight anybody. Some people say that's good business with the Canilos of the world, and others made weather before him, and others picking and choosing their fight because of the way the sport of boxing is run, and you got to pick your fights to make sure you can get the most money.
You don't seem to be a guy that cares about any of that.
Somebody talks smack and they want some you are going to give it to them.
That's the way you are now.
If you found yourself from a popularity perspective where you ended up being in the position a Canilo Alvarez is in right now, how would you be different in terms of the fights that you picked to have.
You know, I always following the same path as my idols. You know what I mean. Oscar de la Joyer, Roy Jones, Junior, Floyd Mayweather.
I would just look for the best fights possible, you know, the fights the fans want to see, because at the end of the day, the fight with me and Canelo is a fight that all the fans want to see. So if you're the man of the people, you're the champion, you're supposed to give the fans what they want to see. So if I'm in the position of Canelo, then I'm
taking the hardest fights. I'm making my history and I'm becoming I'm leaving with the I'm not leaving no doubts that I'm the best fight in the world.
Do you have yourself as the number one pound for pound fight on the planet right now?
No, not right now, but after I win all the belts at won seventy five, I will definitely be number one pound for pounder.
Who do you have number one? Right now?
Usick? All this under Usik, Okay.
You got him. That's a good choice.
I can't deny that, especially after you just be feary, no doubt about that. So you get the belts at one seventy five, what do you think that's going to do for you?
Because you're moving up.
I don't see anybody other than author better other other than better be Off. I don't see anybody elite at the light heavyweight position outside of you. So what would be next assuming you win this fight with Morell?
After this fight, the winner of this fight, which is gonna be me, is gonna fight the winner better be E than be Ball. So you know, that's something that we've been working on for a long long time.
You know, I know this moment, moment was gonna get here.
So after we beat David Morrell, we're going and we're gonna become undisputed at won't seventy five.
Is it possible that doing that could get in the way of a future shot with Canilo because you've moved up to be a legitimate one seventy five and he'd like you, probably want you. We wouldn't want to fight at that weight. Could that be a potential excuse that gets in a way.
To be honest with you, I feel like what we could do, we could probably do something when we fight for the one sixty eight titles and the one seventy five titles.
I think that would be a great you know, that would be a great way.
To entice a fight with Canelo because there'd be twice as much of glory for the fight. And uh yeah, man, I think you know, I think that would be great for the history of Mexican boxing.
I like I like that idea, no doubt. Before I let you get on out of here. How you're gonna win this fight? Is it gonna be via knockout? What you're gonna do?
Yeah, I'm gonna go in there. Like I said, I'm gonna put a beating on David Morell. He's been talking a lot, so I'm gonna break his mouth and I'm gonna.
Give him reason. I always remember David Benavide's So I'm gonna go in there. I'm knocking David Morele for sure.
Got you.
I'm looking forward to it, my man, David Benavita's man. Thank you so much, Thank you, brother, take care of my Thanks to the.
One and only David Benavidez.
Be sure to catch Benavidez versus Morel Julior live on PBC pay per View on Prime Video Saturday.
February first. Don't miss it, big, big listen.
I don't miss David Benavida's fights. I just don't miss it because the brother's that gifted, no doubt about it.