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Unbeaten boxers clash when American David Benavidez faces Cuban David Morrell in a 12-round bout for the WBA regular and WBC world light heavyweight titles on Saturday. The main Benavidez vs. Morrell fight card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas gets underway at 8 p.m. ET, with the ring walk expected at approximately 11 p.m. Benavidez has held the WBC interim light heavyweight crown since June of last year, and has held the WBC super middleweight title twice between 2017 and 2020. Morrell has held the WBA light-heavyweight title since last August, and held the WBA super-middleweight crown from 2021 to 2024.
Benavidez is a -300 favorite (risk $300 to win $100), while Morrell comes back at +240 in the latest David Benavidez vs. David Morrell odds. The over/under for total rounds is 10.5, with the Over favored at -275. The fight going the distance returns -200. Before making any David Benavidez vs. David Morrell picks, be sure to see the boxing predictions from SportsLine’s Josh Nagel.
Nagel, who is the combat sports editor for SportsLine, is an experienced and successful boxing betting analyst and covered the sport for multiple outlets for more than 20 years. Previous SportsLine selections included Floyd Mayweather by decision (-120) over Manny Pacquiao in 2015 and Anthony Joshua by TKO/KO (-150) over Wladimir Klitschko in 2017. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen impressive returns.
Now, Nagel has studied David Benavidez vs. David Morrell from every angle and revealed his top picks and best bets. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Why you should back Benavidez
Benavidez, 28, has dominated throughout his career. He won his first championship at 20 years, eight months, three weeks and one day, becoming the youngest super middleweight world title holder. He is currently ranked second by The Ring Magazine and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and is fourth by BoxRec. He is 29-0 in his professional career with 24 wins by knockout. He was 15-0 as an amateur.
In his first professional fight, he defeated Erasmo Mendoza with a first-round knockout in August 2013. After wins in his first eight fights, he took on Rollin Williams for the vacant junior lightweight title in April 2015. He proceeded to earn a first-round knockout in 2:59. He won his latest title last June when he defeated Oleksandr Gvozdyk by unanimous decision, winning the vacant WBC interim light heavyweight title. See which fighter to back here.
Why you should back Morrell
Morrell, 27, is a southpaw, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Radivoje Kalajdzic for the vacant WBA (regular) light heavyweight title this past August. Morrell’s first professional fight was on Aug. 31, 2019, when he knocked out Yendris Rodriguez Valdez at 1:05 of the first round. After knocking out Quinton Rankin at 1:01 of the second round of their bout in November 2019, he won his first title, earning the WBA interim super-middleweight crown in August 2020. In that fight, he earned a unanimous decision over Lennox Allen.
He retained that title six times, before battling for the WBA light heavyweight crown this past year. For his career, he is 11-0 with nine wins by knockout. Before turning professional, he compiled a 130-5 amateur record, including gold medals at the 2016 Youth World Championships, the 2017 Cuban National Championships and the 2018 India Open International Boxing Tournament. See which fighter to back here.
How to make Benavidez vs. Morrell picks
We can tell you he likes the over for rounds, and he’s also locked in a confident money line and method-of-victory prop that returns nearly +300. You absolutely need to see Nagel’s picks before making any of your own.
Who wins David Benavidez vs. David Morrell, and which method of victory prop could bring a huge return? Join SportsLine here to see which bets you need to make for the fight, all from the accomplished veteran combat sports analyst who has consistently delivered winners.