Former two-division world champion Antonio Tarver believes David Morell may need a knockout to defeat WBC interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez in eight days on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

If Benavidez left-rushes Morel like all of his opponents, he could be knocked out by the Cuban talent in the first round.

Morel has far too much power and technical ability to fight Benavidez in a primitive style that he has grown accustomed to since his overpowered fossil days at 168. Cruiser weight size.

Tarver thinks Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) has the size and professional experience to overcome former Cuban amateur star Morel (11-0, 9 KOs) without knocking him out. Benavidez's output will make it difficult for Morel to win a decision if he is outlanded by a wide margin in this fight.

Benavidez's habit of throwing a lot of shots could be his downfall in this fight as he keeps his chin on the line and gets hit a lot. He relies on his output to overwhelm his opponents, which has worked as he has fought mostly smaller fighters during his 11 years of fighting at 168.

Morrell is a bigger puncher than any of the guys Benavidez has fought and is going to be a knockout threat in this fight. He'll have plenty of opportunities to hurt Benavidez because he's used to fighting older, smaller fighters. He fought a guy named Oleksandr Govozdyk and that fighter really hurt him. He hit Gvozdik's body.

Need a knockout?

“I think Morel needs one or two more tests to be able to handle the power, strength and confidence that David Benavidez brings to the table,” Antonio Tarver said on his YouTube channel. Tarvers Take David Benavidez vs. David Morrell fight in eight days on February 1st.

“I think David Morrell needs to find that shot that doesn't just drop but sinks. He has to knock out David Benavidez. Sometimes there are fighters you can let go of. I don't think you can give up on one of these fighters.

“Sometimes you can knock them down, and I think it's one of those fights where, to secure the victory, one of these guys has to finish it the distance. David Benavidez will have a slight reach and size advantage (correction: 6'1″ Morrell has a four-inch reach advantage. 6'2′ Benavidez may be an inch taller and heavier).”

It looks like Tarver drank the Kool-Aid, buying into the same thing that other Benavidez fans have said about him. If you look past what Benavidez's followers are saying about him and take a closer look at his A. huge size and B. As he's up against younger, older opponents, you'll see that he's just an ordinary heavyweight bully.

“I think this will be one of the more talented fighters that Benavidez has faced,” Tarver said. “Morell brings a lot of talent. experience. Guys like Caleb Plant, the type of fighters that Benavidez has faced. The light heavyweight (Aleksandr Govozdic) that he (fought) was very tough.”

You can't hype Benavidez for beating Caleb Plant because Canelo Alvarez did a much better job of beating him. Plant won the first five rounds against Benavidez and took the fight to him on skill. Canelo dominates Plant and knocks him down.

You can hype Benavidez if Plant has power and doesn't knock him out before fighting Canelo. He did no better than Canelo in beating Plante and lost almost all of the first six rounds. He got exposed by the plant. If you're going to assume Benavidez and use that as your argument for bashing Morel, you're not thinking clearly.

What is body attack?

“He didn't knock him out, but he was able to go the distance,” Morrell said of Gvozdyk's fight against Benvidez. “If you think about who can stop who, I think David Benavidez with that body attack. If he can focus on that early and have some success, it helps him expand. Morrell does employ a consistent body attack. I think that mostly, he is head-hunting.

“When you transition from amateur to pro, it's sitting on those punches and attacking that body. That's why I would recommend any fighter to invest in that body. If you see one of these guys going down early, watch that guy raise his hand.

“You have to take chances when you go to the body. You need to be aware enough to know when you are in a safe position. You can't sit there with your hands down when you try to rip into the body, not with one of these guys. Those guys are both great counter-punchers,” Tarver said.