David Benavidez showed fans why they call him “El Monstro” as he plowed through Cuba’s heavy-punching David Morrell to retain a number one ranking in the light heavyweight division by unanimous decision on Saturday.

Not even a flash knockdown for Morrell could make a difference.

Phoenix native Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) gave Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) his first loss as a professional in front of more than 15,000 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No one needed to hear the judge’s decision.

“I prepared for everything. I know he’s a great fighter,” said Benavidez. “I thought he was going to hit harder, but he didn’t.”

Before the fight, Morrell was almost an even bet according to oddsmakers, but that was not the case once the fight commenced.

Immediately Benavidez pounded the body and exposed the weaknesses of Morrell’s peek-a-boo defense by using his own left glove to push down the Cuban’s guard. Then immediately firing a crushing right to the jaw.

For the first four rounds Benavidez pounded away on the left and right side of Morrell’s body. And when the openings came the uppercuts caught Morrell’s chin. But he absorbed the blows.

Morrell didn’t waver in trying to find a solution. Though Benavidez connected often to the body and head, the Cuban fighter who moved up from super middleweight displayed a very solid chin.

In the fourth round during a furious exchange Morrell beat Benavidez to the punch that stunned him momentarily. But the blow seemed to spark outrage and a storm of blows followed from Benavidez.

It must have seemed like a nightmare for Morrell.

At times the Cuban fighter would connect perfectly with a right hook and pause. Then Benavidez would return fire with massive blows.

The look on Morrell’s face bore traces of disappointment.

As the rounds continued Benavidez became emboldened by his success. Soon the Mexican Monster began launching lead right uppercuts through Morrell’s guard especially in the sixth round.

“He was easier to hit than I expected,” Benavidez said.

During the breaks Morrell’s corner asked him to pressure Benavidez. It was a fruitless suggestion. How do you corner a Monster?

Benavidez continued to stalk Morrell who never stopped swinging but could not seem to hurt the Monster. In the 11^th round Morrell managed to catch Benavidez perfectly with a right hook and down went Benavidez. He immediately got up and the two fighters unloaded on each other. Morrell fired one punch after the bell and was deducted a point by referee Thomas Taylor. That negated the extra point gained from the knockdown.

“I wasn’t really hurt,” said Benavidez. “That bullshit knockdown caught me off-balance.”

The final round saw both resume their efforts to knock the other out. Both showed great chins and the ability to trade. Benavidez was simply better. Even Morrell didn’t wait for the decision to be read as he raised the arm of the Monster at the final bell. All three judges scored in favor of Benavidez 115-111 twice and 118-108.

“He knows this is Monstro’s world. Big shout out for Morrell, he’s a tough fighter,” Benavidez said.

Other Bouts

In a fight dedicated to honor the late Israel Vazquez, the ultimate Aztec warrior, super lightweights Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (27-3-1) and Angel Fierro (23-3-2) battled like demons for 10 nonstop rounds. Cruz was ruled the winner by unanimous decision.

With little resemblance of defense, Cruz and Fierro whacked each other relentlessly with shots that might have stopped a moving car. Cruz was tagged by a right cross on the top of the head that staggered him momentarily. Fierro was driven back four feet by an overhand right to the chin early in the fight.

Both fighters took cruel and unusual punishment and never wavered more than a few seconds. It was brutal war and fans were the winners after 10 rounds of violent and savage action.

All three judges saw Cruz the winner 96-94, 97-93, 98-92.

“I’m so happy I gave the fans a great fight,” Cruz said.

Fulton Wins

Stephen Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs) defeated Brandon Figueroa (23-2-1, 19 KOs) again and took the WBC featherweight title by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. He had previously defeated Figueroa in 2021 for the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles.

Most of the action took place in nose-to-nose fashion where Fulton landed the cleaner shots especially with uppercuts. Figueroa had his moments but was unable to hurt the challenger who lost to Naoya Inoue by knockout 17 months ago.

Fulton landed clean shots but as his record shows he lacks the power with only eight knockouts on his record. But Figueroa was unable to hurt or knock down Fulton. After 12 rounds all three judges saw Fulton win by scores of 116-112 twice and 117-111,

“It feels good. I’m champion again,” said Fulton.

Ramos Wins

Jesus Ramos (22-1, 18 KOs) won by technical knockout over former world champion Jeison Rosario (24-5-2) in the eighth round of a middleweight fight. Both fighters attacked the body but by the sixth round Ramos was the busier fighter and began to dominate the fight. At 2:18 of the eighth round referee Robert Hoyle stopped the fight.

“I like to throw a lot of body punches. It’s kind of my style,” said Ramos.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Premier Boxing Champions was at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas tonight with a card topped by a battle between undefeated light heavyweights David Benavidez and David Morrell. Six prelims preceded the four-bout PPV portion of the show airing on Prime Video PPV and PPV.com.

David Benavidez’s older brother Jose Benavidez Jr kicked things off with a fifth-round stoppage of Danny Rosenberger. It was odd to see the older Benavidez fighting an 8-round contest in a nearly empty arena. Heading in, he was 28-3-1 (19) with his only setbacks coming in bouts with Terence Crawford, Jarmall Charlo, and Danny Garcia. But Benavidez Jr, fighting as a middleweight in the sunset of his career, was too good for Youngstown, Ohio’s self-managed Rosenberger (20-10-4).

Unbeaten in his last 15 starts which included a draw with Nico Ali Walsh that was changed to a no-decision when the Ohioan tested positive for a banned substance, Rosenberger was on his feet and wasn’t badly hurt when the referee waived it off, it but to that point it had been a one-sided fight.

Cuello-Olivo

The marquee fight of the prelims, so to speak, pit Argentina’s Mirco Cuello, an Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo, managed by Sampson Lewkowicz, against Christian Olivo in a 10-round featherweight contest. The Argentine, undefeated in 14 starts with 11 KOs, was a heavy favorite over his Mexican adversary and yet very nearly came a cropper, getting off the deck to pull the match out of the fire in the final round.

In the second round, Olivo knocked Cuello to his knees with a left-right combination and Cuello found himself on the canvas for the first time in his career. From that point on, this was a competitive, fan-friendly fight, seemingly closer than the judges’ scores which became moot when Cuello took the fight out of their hands, decking Olivo twice, both left hooks to the solar plexus, which motivated referee Chris Flores to step in and stop it with heavy underdog Olivo (22-2-1) ahead by 6, 4, and 2 points through the completed rounds. The official time was 2:01.

This match was billed as a WBA eliminator which puts Cuello in line to fight England’s Nick Ball but, given a choice, Cuello may opt for the Figueroa-Fulton winner later tonight.

Other Bouts

Yoenli Hernandez, a 27-year-old Cuban, TKOed feisty but overmatched Angel Ruiz in the fifth round of an 8-round middleweight affair. Hernandez has now won all seven of his pro fights inside the distance after ending his amateur career with 26 straight wins. He bears watching. Mexico’s Ruiz falls to 19-4-1.

Salt Lake City lightweight Curmel Moton, the 18-year-old prodigy of Floyd Mayweather Jr, advanced to 7-0 (6 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Frank Zaldivar (5-2).

Milwaukee super middleweight Daniel Blancas, a stablemate of the Benavidez brothers, improved to 12-0 (5) with a unanimous 8-round decision over Victorville, California’s Juan Barajas (11-1-2). Blancas won comfortably on the cards (80-72, 79-73 twice), but Barajas came to fight and was no pushover.

Super middleweight John “Candyman” Easter, a promising prospect, was forced to go the distance for the first time in his young career, but was a clear-cut winner over Portland, Oregon’s Joseph Aguilar in their six-round match, winning by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 twice. The 22-year-old Easter advanced to 8-0. Aguilar dops to 6-3-1.

Check back later for David Avila’s recap of the Benavidez-Morrell fight and the three other PPV bouts.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 311: Jim Lampley Adds Class to the Benavidez-Morrell Rumble

Boxing is the oldest sport.

For at least the last 100 years or so, a person with a microphone sitting ringside as an observer has spewed details in machine gun fashion to a radio or television audience of hand-to-hand combat taking place in a boxing ring.

There have been many excellent orators of the sweet science, too many to name, but one who stands out is Jim Lampley. He is the Cicero of boxing journalism.

Through showers of blood, saliva and sometimes body parts, Lampley gave oratory of boxing matches taking place from the days of Sugar Ray Leonard to the emergence of women’s boxing.

Lampley and his merry men of boxing journalism return to Las Vegas for the light heavyweight clash between David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) on Saturday Feb. 1, at T-Mobile Arena. PPV.Com will stream the fight card among other media outlets.

“People want to see the stars. They want to see the biggest stars,” says Lampley (pictured on the right with Morrell) about today’s boxing platforms. “We’ve gone from mass distribution to point to point distribution…it’s a product of the current digital world and how that operates.”

No other journalist rivals Lampley when it comes to prizefighting. No other can match the style and grace he describes a sport that brings unexpected intensity and sometimes shocking results.

Think Juan Manuel Marquez knocking out the great Manny Pacquiao in their fourth and final meeting in 2012.

Boxing’s Voice

Lampley has few rivals in broadcast journalism unless you compare other sports like baseball where the late Dodger announcer Vin Scully carved his legend. Or perhaps Chick Hearn the originator of pop culture basketball terminology like “it’s in the refrigerator.”

Boxing has Lampley and since his childhood, the sport has captivated his interest. He recalls after his father passed away his mother sat him in front of a small television set at age six to watch Sugar Ray Robinson fight Carl “Bobo” Olson in their second fight. Boxing was his babysitter.

“I’ve had boxing in my heart and in my head ever since,” Lampley said.

During his youth, after his widowed mother moved their family to Miami, Florida, the young Lampley saved car washing and lawn-mowing money to buy a ticket to watch Cassius Clay versus Sonny Liston.

“My mother took me and dropped me off with my individual ticket to go in and watch the fight. That was the night I saw my very first prize fight,” described Lampley about one of the most important boxing events that took place in 1964. “So, boxing has always been big in my background and in my sports fan experience.”

Eventually Lampley worked with ABC Sports covering college football, Wide World of Sports, and Olympic coverage. The only sport he did not cover in 13 years was boxing because Howard Cosell had a vice grip hold on boxing coverage for ABC. But when new leadership arrived it was decided to insert Lampley to cover boxing as a means of punishment.

“He immediately sized up that I was culturally allergic to boxing,” said Lampley of the new ABC leadership. “He assumed that I would be such a bad fit in boxing that it would bring an end to my broadcasting career and kick me out of his division.”

Ironically the event Lampley was forced to cover was Mike Tyson against Jesse Ferguson in Troy, New York on February 1986.

“This was an astonishing opportunity,” Lampley said. “Maybe this was meant to be,”

After a year or two more with ABC, Lampley moved to CBS and HBO to be part of their boxing programming and blazed a course for that program and himself as the preeminent voice of boxing broadcasting.

From Duran to Mayweather

Among those epic fights HBO covered featured Roberto Duran, Boom Boom Mancini, Marvin Halger, Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Lewis, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather to name some.

When it was announced that new ownership for HBO decided to cancel its boxing programming, the boxing world was aghast.

“It was painful, sad, I was bereft,” said Lampley of the last HBO boxing card at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. “We had no idea why the brand new owners at HBO, a bunch of cell phone salesmen from Dallas, did not see boxing as an important part of the franchise.”

That night on Dec. 8, 2018, women’s boxing was featured for the first and only time on HBO. Lampley was aided by Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. It was a cold night as usual at the outdoor arena known for its gladiator-like results such as the two bloody clashes between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. (Photo insert: Lampley’s last HBO hurrah; photo by Al Applerose)

Among the women who fought that evening were Cecilia Braekhus and Claressa Shields. Ironically, seven months earlier, Braekhus fought Kali Reis at the same venue. Reis would go on to earn an Emmy nomination for an HBO series for her portrayal in the True Detective series.

Six years ago was HBO and Lampley’s final bow together.

“Still to this day I have no idea why they thought that was better for the long term,” Lampley said of HBO’s boxing abortion.

PPV.COM        

Though HBO Championship Boxing no longer exists, Lampley’s undisputed talent for describing the art of boxing has brought him back. Now he represents PPV.COM an outfit wise enough to recognize the appeal of boxing’s greatest broadcast journalist from 1988 to December 2018. They reeled him back and with a new format that includes texting with fans during the actual fights.

“I help introduce the audience to the new communication phenomenon which I’m involved,” said Lampley who is partnered with journalist Dan Canobbio and Chris Algieri for this event. “It puts me back in touch with all my old friends in the media room where I spend the whole week leading up to the fight.”

Lampley recalls his first broadcast with PPV.COM 15 months ago already saw debates regarding undefeated David Benavidez possibly accepting a challenge from David Morrell.

“As style fights go, its potentially a great one,” said Lampley. “Its two punchers with legitimate punching power in an extremely fan friendly fight. The winner is regarded as logical upcoming opponent for Canelo Alvarez the number one money attraction in the world.”

On Saturday night when Benavidez and Morrell lead a talented fight card, be sure to select PPV.COM as your choice to listen to Lampley’s undeniable talent for describing boxing action.

Take advantage boxing fans.

One last note, Lampley’s book “It Happened” will be coming soon on April 15.

Fights to Watch

Sat. PPV.COM 3 p.m. David Benavidez (29-0) vs David Morrell (11-0); Brandon Figueroa (25-1-1) vs Stephen Fulton (22-1); Isaac Cruz (26-3-1) vs Angel Fierro (23-2-2).

Sun. DAZN 4:30 p.m. Claressa Shields (15-0) vs Danielle Perkins (5-0).

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