David Benavidez-David Morrell pegged for February 1 at T-Mobile Arena
Nov 13, 2024 • 12:46 PM ET
The moving target of David Benavidez’s next fight has seemingly finally settled into sight, with an official connected to his showdown with fellow unbeaten light-heavyweight David Morrell telling BoxingScene Wednesday that the bout will occur February 1 as a Prime Video pay-per-view from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Benavidez 29-0 (24 KOs) was previously pegged for bouts December 14 and January 25. His move to fight Morrell caused the first shift, and his father/trainer Jose Benanavidez Snr’s work provoked the latest adjustment.
Jose Benavidez Snr also trains unbeaten, WBO top-ranked super-middleweight Diego Pacheco, 22-0 (18 KOs), who’s in negotiations to fight Trevor McCumby, 28-1 (21 KOs), January 25 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Premier Boxing Champions will stage the Benavidez fight versus Morrell 11-0 (9 KOs) with the winner in position to land a bout against newly undisputed light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
Benavidez, who was bypassed as WBC super-middleweight mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez, is currently the WBC interim 175-pound champion and has been promised a shot at Beterbiev by the sanctioning body.
Meanwhile, Pacheco can affirm his position as WBO No. 1 to Alvarez after defeating Maciej Sulecki by sixth-round knockout Aug. 31 in his own DAZN main event in Carson, California.
Arizona’s McCumby produced an entertaining ninth-round TKO loss Sept. 14 versus former 168-pound champion Caleb Plant in Las Vegas.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
