Coach Kenny Ellis thinks David Benavidez will “obsess” David Morrell with volume and break him down in the next round. Ellis believes Benavidez will get stronger as the rounds go on.

WBC interim light heavyweight champion Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and WBA 'regular' champion Morel (11-0, 9 KOs) will meet at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in 15 days on Prime Video PPV on PBC.

Ellis predicts Benvidez won't take as long to take out Morrell as Caleb Plant because he's a good boxer. Plant looked undersized in the ring compared to the much larger, lighter, heavyweight Benavidez and lacked the power to knock him back.

The power of morale

“Until Morrell's belt hits Benavidez. These belts are extremely heavy and if they hit you right, it could have caused a serious injury and it would have stopped the whole damn fight,” said coach Kenny Ellis. Millcity BoxingDavid Morrell talks about throwing his WBA 'regular' light heavyweight belt at David Benavidez when they face off at a media workout in Miami on December 17.

“In that fight, David Morrell's got that one-punch knockout power where he can catch, and he can catch Benavidez. I just think 'The Mexican Monster' is going to overwhelm him with everything. He's going to tear him apart as the Mexican monster gets stronger and stronger as the rounds go by.

“He's got a great punch himself, but I can't see Morrell outboxing him because he won't have the space to set it up. He won't get that break between punches to set it up, because once the Mexican monster gets started. He's going to make you uncomfortable. He's not going to set you up,” Ellis said.

Benavidez shoved Morel at the media workout, so he threw his belt at him. It wasn't like Morel threw his belt away for no reason. He did this because Benavidez pushed him hard when he refused to shake his hand.

Morel can box, but he will be forced to go to war with Benavidez as he chases him around the ring. This can work in Morel's favor as he likes to move and then stop to throw hard punches against his oncoming opponent. He catches them as they move forward. If he nails Benavidez with a solid shot, he can knock him out.

“It's a possibility,” Ellis said when asked if Morel could hit Benavidez so hard that he doesn't land as many punches as he normally would because he'd be afraid of being hit by the Cuban. “Anything can happen, but I'm rocking with 'Mexican Monster'.”

It is doubtful that Benavidez will change his usual method of burying his opponent with activity if Morrell hits him hard. If he focuses on throwing 'The Mexican Monster' in the head, it won't work because he has great punch resistance. However, I've never seen Benvidez get hit too hard by a fighter with elite power.

Oleksandr Govozdyk had great power, but he didn't throw hard enough punches. He mostly pushed his shots, tried not to get tired and concentrated on boxing. This style allowed Benavidez to build a huge lead through eight rounds. It was too late when Gvozdik finally got to the championship round and needed a knockout. This is the only true puncher Benavidez has fought, other than David Lemieux, who was old and over the hill when he fought.

“I like Morel though. I think (Caleb) is a better boxer than Plant Morrell. I don't think it will take long for Benavidez to find him and back him up and do what he does. At the same time, Morrell's got that one-punch power that can change things and slow things down. But I'm rocking with 'The Mexican Monster,'” said Ellis.

Caleb Plant tried to fight Benavidez on the inside and took a lot of punishment in the second half of the fight. In the first, Caleb did well, and by the fifth he did even better. Morel isn't going to fight Benavidez on the inside, but if he does, he showed in the fight against Hot Rod that he has great strength inside.