EVEN David Benavidez cracked a smile as an exaggerating David Morrell Jr. imitated him on the stage Tuesday afternoon.
Morrell mocked Benavidez for being robotic during a media workout at BOXR Gym in Miami. The Cuban southpaw believes Benavidez lacks athleticism and won’t have the footwork required to make their 12-round, 175-pound match competitive February 1 in Las Vegas.
The unbeaten Benavidez warned Morrell that he has made the same mistake other opponents have committed in thinking this will be an easier assignment than it will be in the 12-round main event of a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view show.
Benavidez repeated some of the trash Morrell talked in Spanish while responding to Morrell’s claim that he is a robotic boxer incapable of dealing with the strong, skillful southpaw.
“I don’t have nothing,” Benavidez said. “I suck. I’m a bum. I’m a Robocop. That’s fine. That’s fine he’s thinking like that. That’s fine. Show the people. You better not have no f***ing excuses after I knock you the f*** out in front of all your people. What are you gonna say? You’re gonna say David Benavidez is the best. He’s gonna say David Benavidez is the best.
“Just like you and everybody else I fought before you. They all say the same sh*t. I’m Robocop. I have no defense. I have no footwork, none of this and that. But after they get in the ring with me, it’s a whole different story. It’s a whole different story. You’re gonna see that sh*t, too.”
Benavidez, 28, shoved Morrell, 26, several minutes earlier when they posed face-to-face for photographers in the ring. Morrell threw his WBA belt at Benavidez as a crowd intervened to separate them.
No punches were thrown by Benavidez or Morrell. Once order was restored, they sat near one another and answered questions, which led to the abovementioned exchange.
Phoenix’s Benavidez, 29-0 (24 KOs), is slightly favoured to beat Morrell, 11-0 (9 KOs), in their fight for Benavidez’s WBC interim 175-pound championship and Morrell’s secondary WBA belt.
