This fight isn’t nearly getting as much attention as it should, a shame because it has all the makings of a classic. But hey, that just means a hidden betting opportunity for you. Keep reading and we’ll tell you exactly how to bet Benavidez vs. Morrell for max profits!
We must begin this preview of Benavidez and Morrell with a look at the current boxing betting odds. Per the best boxing betting sites, Benavidez is the favorite to win, by not by a massive amount. Here’s the moneyline odds:
This fight will be at 175 pounds, light heavyweight. Funny enough, this is not the natural weight for either fighter. Both were in the 168 division at the start of a year — a division where Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) racked up the WBC belt (the youngest in history actually). Benavidez long tried to stir up a fight between him and Canelo Alvarez. It didn’t pan out (Canelo said he didn’t want to fight Mexican fighters) so Benavidez moved up.
Morrell, who is out of Cuba, also moved up during the summer. In his first matchup in the weight class, Morrell secured a unanimous decision over Radivoje Kalajdzic. It was only the second time in 11 career fights that Morrell hasn’t knocked out his opponent. He too has a 0 in his loss column like Benavidez.
This fight has great consequences. The winner could be in line for a title shot for either Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, depending on who wins their rematch early this year too. Let’s get into our picks now.
We’ll be offering up three different bets for Benavidez and Morrell. Personally, we’re taking single bets on all of these. If you want to put all three into a parlay, then be our guest. However, we’re taking a more cautious approach because it’s a close fight that could go either way. With that said, here’s what we predict will happen.
On tape, we like what we see out of Morrell. He has good size and power — which could pose problems for Benavidez, who doesn’t have the best defense to start with (his flat feet don’t help). However, we can’t overlook his opponents. If we’re being honest, who has Morrell really beaten? His opponent list isn’t nobodies, but it’s not high-level fighters like Benavidez’s list.
Beating Caleb Plant is a real feather in Benavides’s cap. He’s an elite talent that gave Canelo a hell of a fight too. Not only that, but Benavidez won in an all-out war against Plant. The fight after that, Benavidez, handed Demetrius Andrade the only loss of his career. Those are resume wins that tell us Benavidez is for real.
It’s not even just the quality of opponents, but experience too. Morrell has all of 11 pro fights to his name. That’s about one-third or Benavidez’s 29. And it’s not like there’s a huge age difference between the two. Morrell is 26, Benavidez is 28.
We just cant get ourselves to pick Morrell here due to all that. He hasn’t proven himself to us. Take the “Mexican Monster” moneyline here.
Now here’s a fun bet, how long will this bout last? The current over/under is set to 10.5 rounds:
Both fighters are knockout specialists. In 40 combined fights between the two, a whopping 33 ended early. However, we think this one will go the distance, we really do.
Despite the resume, we’re not going to discount Morrell. He’s a tough fighter. However, we fully expect for Benavidez to fight like he usually does — in a bullying way. Benavides loves to press. It’s served him well up to this point. Why would he go away from that now?
Our guess says the judges decide this. Benavidez will have his work cut out for him, but his output will be high. As the right wears on, he’ll use his experience to “figure out” his opponents. This leads to a unanimous decision victory for Benavidez. Bank on it!
Alright, this next pick is a pure betting value play. The point of this prop is to pick not just who wins, but how. The list of options is as follows:
| Outcome |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benavidez by KO | +330 | -600 | -600 |
| Benavidez by Decision | +135 | +600 | +600 |
| Draw | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Morrell by KO | +550 | +330 | +330 |
| Morrell by Decision | +250 | +135 | +135 |
You already know we have Benavidez winning via decision. So no secret there. But take a look at those odds above — +130. Compare that to the -175 moneyline odds, and now you’re getting a real steal value-wise. This is a no-brainer bet for us.
Last thing before we let you go, where to actually bet on Benavidez and Morrell? We recommend one of the leading online sports betting sites below. The five listed are the best of the best:
At any of these sites, you’ll get the three wagers we covered, plus many more prop bets. Surely, you’ll find a wager you like that we didn’t cover.
