Benavidez-Morrell, Fulton-Figueroa 2 Motor PBC Comeback?

Tuesday’s news that David Benavidez vs. David Morrell would actually be a “for real” thing hit me like when money hits my account on the first and I realize I went another month without getting fired. Yes!

Per David Benavidez (via Instagram):

“There was a lot of names on the table but I wanted to give my fans the best fight possible . I reached out to David Morrell and his team to make this happen and we got the contract done. This fight really gonna be a banger!!! 2 of the best in the division and 2 titles on the line , LFG!!!!!”

Benavidez told no lies. Benavidez-Morrell WILL be a banger. It’s also the second best fight to be made at light heavyweight, behind this Saturday’s Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol title unification clash.

Kudos to both sides for taking a risky fight like this.

Opposite-of-Kudos to yours truly for disparaging Benavidez just about two weeks ago and his “persistence bordering on delusion” regarding a Canelo Alvarez fight. Yeah, I still say Benavidez would really, really like to fight Canelo (who WOULDN’T want that kind of payday?), but it looks like the undefeated two-time WBC super middleweight champ and current interim WBC light heavyweight champ is moving on with his boxing life.

Kudos must also go to Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) for facilitating this matchup and giving it a home (reportedly in late January). Actually, the last couple of days should launch a few kudos PBC’s way.

On Monday, Matthew Brown of Brunch Boxing reported that the rematch between Stephen Fulton and Brandon Figueroa– an outstanding action fight (and junior featherweight unification bout) from 2021 that Fulton won via close majority decision– is also being finalized. Slated for the co-feature slot underneath a disappointing Gervonta “Tank” Davis-Lamont Roach main event on December 14, it’s a tremendous fight nonetheless.

And then there are the unsubstantiated PBC stories buzzing online about the Jose Valenzuela-Isaac Cruz rematch underneath Benavidez-Morrell and the return of Jermall Charlo on the Tank-Roach undercard..

In the realm of the totally substantiated, there’s also the upcoming October 19 debut (FINALLY) of PBC’s “free” Amazon Prime Video programming (headlined by Tim Tszyu vs. IBF junior middleweight champ Bakhram Murtazaliev).

All of this positive forward momentum from PBC stands in stark contrast to the last year or so where the boxing company stagnated, let fighters go to pursue paydays for lack of dates, and generally underachieved in putting on quality shows when they did have dates.

PBC’s Amazon Prime Video product, specifically, has been underwhelming. The four shows aired on the streaming platform since their distribution deal began have been mostly disappointing, at least when it comes to what one should expect from big-ticket pay-per-view shows.

Benavidez-Morrell and Fulton-Figueroa 2, reported in the last couple of days, signal a renewed focus on fan-friendly matchmaking and a willingness to make the best of the talent within their still-deep roster.

This is a good thing for boxing and, specifically, it’s a good thing for the US boxing scene, which has also been fairly stagnant as a whole as PBC floundered.

Next up on the PBC agenda? Hopefully, they can force feed some meaningful opposition to their two cash cows, Canelo Alvarez and Tank Davis.