“I’m going to make an example of David Morrell so that the rest of the light heavyweight division can see that I’m not playing with anyone. He’s got the toughest fight of his life ahead of him. To be honest, I don’t think he’ll be fighting after this fight. He’s going to retire.”

On February 1, Benavidez will face Cuban interim WBA champion David Morrell (11-0, 9 knockouts) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winner of this fight will become the interim unified champion (WBA & WBC) and will have the right to challenge the winner of Bivol vs. Beterbiev.