The touch paper was lit between the light heavyweights David Benavidez and David Morrell at Tuesday’s public workout, as anticipation for their February 1 bout in Las Vegas grew.
The unbeaten rivals will meet at the T-Mobile Arena, but on Tuesday, in Florida, tempers flared and they failed to contain their feud.
Benavidez, 28, shoved Morrell, and Morrell launched his WBA interim title in Benavidez’s direction.
“I came over with all respect, it’s my birthday, so I tried to be a little more calm, I tried to shake his hand, he didn’t want to shake my hand, he told me he was going to mess me up, and I got mad, so I pushed him,” Benavidez told ProBox TV. “That kind of shows what the temperature it is, how the fight is heating up. He doesn’t like me. I don’t like him. The ones who are going to end up winning are the fans, because we’re going to go to war in there.”
There is genuine animosity between them. Benavidez is 29-0 (24 KOs), and the 26-year-old Morrell is 11-0 (9 KOs), but Benavidez said he was surprised by Tuesday’s tension, given things had started respectfully when the fight was first announced.
“The thing that bothered me afterwards was he came after the press conference and shook my hand, so that’s why I tried to shake his hand here,” said Benavidez. “I tried to be cool. But I guess when all these people are around, he thinks he’s hard and he thinks he’s somebody he’s not, but when he’s by himself he knows he can’t mess with me.
“It’s going to be a war. I’m 100 per cent ready for this fight, I know David Morrell’s going to come ready for this fight but I’m going to inflict as much damage as possible on David Morrell and I will leave with my hand raised and with two belts that night.”
The February 1 winner will be in line to face the February 22 victor in Saudi Arabia when Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol have a rematch.
“I’m ready for whoever,” said Benavidez. “I feel at this point I’m in the best moment of my life, mentally and physically and emotionally and I’m ready for anybody, whoever, whenever.”
Does that mean Benavidez’s long-time target is now out of the picture?
“I don’t think he’s out of the picture,” said Benavidez. “But I think that fight would happen more in the future. I think right now we’ve got big fights happening in the light-heavyweight division and we’re just focused on the light-heavyweight division first.”