WBA 'regular' light heavyweight champion David Morrell Jr. and WBC interim belt holder David Benavidez will meet Tuesday, November 19 in a kickoff press conference to discuss their fight on February 1 on PBC on Prime Video PPV.
The Morrell-Benavidez press conference will be held next Tuesday in Los Angeles at The NOVO at LA Live. Interestingly, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is rated highest, ahead of Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs), despite only holding an interim title.
Morrell should have his name ahead of Benavidez on the posters for the fight. If the Cuban knockout artist beats Morrell Benavidez, he will be named first if a rematch takes place, which it likely will. Benavidez's management at Premier Boxing Champions will certainly stage a second fight to give 'The Mexican Monster' a chance to redeem himself.
Undercard
Brandon Figueroa Jr vs. Stephen FultonIsaac 'Pitbull' Cruz vs. Angel FierroJesus Ramos Jr. vs. Jeison Rosario
Figueroa vs. Fulton 2 Rematch
In the co-feature on the February 1 card, WBC featherweight champion Brandon Figueroa Jr. (25-1-1, 19 KOs) defend against former WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) in a rematch of their fight three years ago on November 27, 2021. Fulton defeated Figueroa to win a majority decision of 12 rounds.
Fulton's career has not gone well since his win. Last year, on July 25, 2023, he lost to Naoya Inoue by technical knockout in the eighth round. The fight was a pure mismatch, as Inoue took advantage of Fulton's weak strength to split him earlier. finished him off in the eighth round.
Figueroa, 27, is just entering his prime and will follow Inoue's blueprint to the letter of blasting gaps into Fulton and landing power shots until he folds. It could be an easy knockout. 'Cool By Steph' Fulton is not the same fighter at featherweight as he is at 122, and he doesn't have the power to be a factor in this division.
Fulton's chin looked like Swiss cheese in his last fight against non-puncher Carlos Castro on September 14, where he was dropped in the fifth and staggered several times. The 30-year-old Fulton eventually entered the field and won a narrow 10-round majority decision against an exhausted-looking Castro. Had the Mexican fighter not faded, he would have knocked out Fulton as he hurt him with his shots over the first six rounds.
Isaac 'Pitbull' Cruz vs. Angel Fierro
On February 1, Benavidez vs. Morrell card, light welterweight Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs) will also fight Angel Fierro (22-2-2, 17 KOs). Both guys are coming off losses and need a win to stay in the fight.
Pitbull Cruz lost to Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela via a 12-round split decision on August 3 in Los Angeles. Fierro lost by a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision to Alfredo Santiago on June 15 in Manati, Puerto Rico.
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