Benavidez Beats Morrell by Unanimous Decision
David Benavidez and David Morrell met on Feb. 1, 2025, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a 12-round light-heavyweight fight.
Benavidez won by unanimous decision, with scores of 118-108, 115-111, and 115-111. He retained his interim WBC light-heavyweight title and won Morrell’s WBA light-heavyweight title.
The result moved Benavidez to 30-0 at the time and gave Morrell his first professional loss, leaving him 11-1. Morrell had knocked Benavidez down in Round 11, then lost a point for punching after the bell.
How Benavidez secured the decision
Benavidez’s pressure and combination punching shaped the contest, but Morrell remained dangerous through the closing rounds. The late knockdown made the eleventh a dramatic moment rather than a routine finish to a wide decision. The accompanying point deduction also matters when reading the final totals: the round included both a scoring success for Morrell and a penalty against him.
According to the PBC fight report, CompuBox credited Benavidez with 224 landed punches from 553 attempts, compared with Morrell’s 165 from 601. Those figures illustrate the difference between throwing more and landing more consistently. Benavidez connected at approximately 40.5 percent, while Morrell finished at approximately 27.5 percent.
The matchup brought together two unbeaten fighters who had already competed for titles before meeting at light heavyweight. For Benavidez, the result extended his undefeated record against another prominent contender. For Morrell, completing twelve rounds and scoring a late knockdown provided competitive moments, although all three judges ultimately favored his opponent.
Sources
- PBC official fight-night results
- Official round-by-round scorecards
- WBA judges’ score analysis
Sources
Tags: MMA
