Behind a sustained body assault and brutal power punching, David Benavidez outworked David Morrell to earn a unanimous decision in a battle of light heavyweight interim titleholders at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The clash between heated rivals was an entertaining battle of power punchers, but it would be Benavidez's accuracy, aggression and volume that earned him the victory.
Benavidez, 28, repeatedly told his opponent that body punching would be the key to picking up a stoppage. However, it was Benavidez who would taste the canvas in the 11th round when a right hand caught him off balance. Unfortunately for Morrell, he was deducted a point for punching after the bell during a furious exchange.
The knockdown was too little, too late as Benavidez piled up an insurmountable lead.
Scores were 115-111, 115-111 and 118-108.
Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) spent much of the fight on the front foot, applying pressure and drilling the Cuban to the body. Morrell (11-1) opted to stand in front of Benavidez rather than use his movement to prevent his rival from pinning him against the ropes. Things were competitive early but Benavidez began gaining momentum in the middle rounds as he delivered a sustained body assault and drilled Morrell with lead uppercuts.
Benavidez landed 224 of 553 punches (41%) to Morrell's 165-601 (27%).
With the win, Benavidez now holds both the WBC and WBA interim light heavyweight titles and is in line to face the winner of the Feb. 22 undisputed light heavyweight title rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.