MANY were left underwhelmed by David Benavidez’s 12-round unanimous decision win over Oleksandr Gvodzyk in June, his first foray into a dangerous weight division where the two long-reigning world champions will again do battle in February.
Teddy Atlas, convinced into a coaching return to help finetune the Ukrainian’s tendencies, helped Gvodzyk win and defend the WBC world light-heavyweight title during a three-fight stretch together (2018-19).
While still friendly today, he questioned whether the 37-year-old truly felt he could win given the conditions leading up to his return, having announced his retirement in 2020 after a tenth-round stoppage defeat against now-undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev eight months earlier.
“He’s at a different place in his life and older, still showed the same courage and heart he had under me, obviously a different fighter but I noticed he was punching to the surface rather than through it. So what does that suggest?
“Maybe his intentions were more to survive than win – only he knows – credit for upgrading his effort later on [in the fight] especially after a long inactive spell. A few warm-ups were not enough to get ready for an undefeated, confident fighter like Benavidez though.”
Gvodzyk ended his retirement last year, returning with three victories in seven months against Josue Obando (20-34-2), Ricards Bolotniks (19-6-1) and Isaac Rodrigues (28-4) – the latter two on Canelo Alvarez undercards after citing sparring with the four-division world champion as the catalyst for his comeback.
117-111, 119-109, 116-112 were the varied scorecards as Gvodzyk was adjudged to have won the bulk of the second-half, though gave himself too big a deficit to claw back and that sluggish start proved costly.
Benavidez wasn’t worried about criticism surrounding his display, insisting hand and wrist injuries as well as a sparring cut all dented an otherwise sharp knife.
The Phoenix boxer (29-0, 24 KOs) makes his second light-heavyweight appearance to kick off an exciting 2025 on February 1 against fellow unbeaten rival David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs), consistently calling the Monster’s name for two-and-a-half years while following him into the 175lb division after being stifled by politics atop the super-middleweight division.
He previously won and defended the WBA interim super-middleweight world title six times, culminating in a scary second-round knockout win over Sena Agbeko this time twelve months ago. 27 next month, the powerful southpaw believes he’ll expose a must-watch attraction that has longed for a genuinely compelling rival.
On whether it’s realistic Benavidez can enjoy an extended title reign at 175lbs, given Beterbiev turns 40 next month while uncertainty surrounds Dmitry Bivol’s long-term future, Atlas was passionate when talking to Boxing News:
“Of course! He’s got the skeleton for it and minerals too, size isn’t a problem – was huge at 168 – having to boil down might’ve done him more harm than good. The most important thing is mentality, maintaining the same confidence and fortitude as when he was in a smaller weight class.
“He and his father Sr are a good unit, they’re not over-the-top but have strong beliefs and their commitment shows that, what they’re prepared to accept. The proof is in the pudding. He could’ve easily taken a softer approach than Morrell or waited for Beterbiev-Bivol 2 but is boxing a very dangerous guy here.”
Morrell (48-5, 12 KOs) was a decorated amateur on a deep Cuban roster where double Olympic champion Julio Cesar La Cruz was first-choice for the biggest tournaments. After falling short in the 2016 Nationals final to the now 35-year-old, he only lost one of his last 20 amateur fights – avenging it two days later – all in 11 months before turning pro 18 months later.
Atlas preemptively dismissed whether he’d be ready for a bout of this magnitude, highlighting his boxing education after a similarly anticlimactic 175lb debut win over Radivoje Kalajdzic in August.
“He hasn’t got a lot of pro fights but I don’t give a damn! Probably had 200 amateur fights, top amateur from the great national team of Cubans with great pedigree, a good puncher and didn’t look as good as people thought he should in their minds [against Kalajdzic], but do not sleep on Morrell. He’s a formidable opponent.”
