The Rumor Mill: Benavidez-Morrell in the works for January?

In the light heavyweight division there is little doubt as to who stands as the top two fighters: Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. In a few days, they will square off to see who will reign as the number one guy at 175. While many boxing enthusiasts are anticipating that matchup, there is another one that could bring some excitement to the division (and boxing as a whole) if things fall in the right direction.

Two former champions at super middleweight in David Benavidez and David Morrell have recently entered in the light heavyweight division, with Benavidez scoring a victory over former light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June and Morrell getting a win over Radivoje Kalajdzic in August. Benavidez won the WBC interim title in his win while Morrell won the WBA world title in his. There was some buzz in the past that these two could be fighting each other but it didn’t get much traction…but could we be close to it happening in 2025?

A few weeks ago, there was some chatter about Benavidez and Morrell facing each other but it was dismissed by Benavidez, stating that he is likely to fight Jesse Hart instead. However according to the BoxRec.com website, Hart is scheduled to fight in a card in Philadelphia in November. If that is the case, then he cannot be Benavidez’s next opponent. On top of that, recent comments by the promoter of Sampson Lewkowicz to YSM Sports Media were not necessarily direct as far as what is next for Benavidez as he could not bring up specific details. As far as what was possible for David Morrell, comments from his trainer in August pointed towards Morrell fighting on December 21st. However up to this point there has been nothing that says he is locked in for that date yet.

If this fight is being in the works for January, it would be a great fight for both Benavidez and Morrell. They have had some back and forth chatter as to who is the better fighter and they did have some time being at the top five in the super middleweight division. A clash between the two at light heavyweight would bring some clarity to the division and show who would be next in line to compete for the world titles after we get a victor between Beterbiev and Bivol on October 12th.

Cover photo by James Bell for The Boxing Source

NOTE – The Rumor Mill is part of The Boxing Source website where news on potential fights or updates on confirmed fights will be posted. There may be details on these fights or it may just be early news about fights that could be made.