David Benavidez and David Morrell went to war on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Benavidez prevailed via unanimous decision (115-111×2, 118-108) in one of the most action-packed fights you’ll probably see in 2025.
Both men had their moments in the fight, but Benavidez outlanded Morrell in all but two of the rounds. He launched an all-out assault on his opponent’s body, landing more than twice the punches that Morrell connected with in that region. Benavidez was also more accurate with his power shots, landing 48% of them over the 12 rounds.
Morrell did score the only knockdown of the fight. It happened in the 11th round when he clipped Benavidez with a sweeping right hand that connected while the latter was off balance.
Benavidez wasn’t hurt, but it still counted as a legal knockdown because both of his gloves touched the canvas.
Unfortunately for Morrell, that point was quickly negated as he was penalized for landing a punch after the bell. The referee was a bit overzealous with that decision.
Benavidez was the one who initiated the punching after the bell. Morrell’s punch was a response. However, it appeared to do more damage, and the referee’s action was seemingly based on the cleanness of the punch.
By that time, Morrell was so far behind on all three judges’ scorecards that the single point wouldn’t have affected the result.
After the fight, multiple people from the boxing world took to social media to react to the fight and praise Benavidez and Morrell’s efforts.
