Benavidez Vs. Morrell Possible Co-feature: Rayo Valenzuela Vs. Pitbull Cruz Rematch

Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz vs. Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela rematch is in the works for the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell on January 25 in Las Vegas.

Fernando Sabatino reports on X that Jose Benavidez Sr., Benavidez’s father, says his partner could be a Cruz vs. Rayo. They are working on that.

That fight will add huge value to WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) and WBC interim champion Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs).

The boxing world is already excited to see the Benavidez-Morrell fight, but adding a Valenzuela-Cruz rematch to the card makes it even better.

‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) dethroned Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs), beating him by a 12-round split decision on August 3rd in Los Angeles.

That was pure education for Rayo, who looked like a carbon copy of Vasily Lomachenko, using movement and power to defeat the hard-hitting Cruz. The 5’10” Valenzuela dominated the much shorter 5’4″ Cruz and did a good job of getting out of the way of his big shots.

Points for Rayo-Cruz

– 116-112: Rayo
– 116-112: Rayo
– 115-113: Pitbull

It’s unclear what the PPV price for the Benavidez-Morrell event will be, but it’s likely to be in the $70+ range. Benavidez’s only two PPV title appearances during his career were in 2023:

– Caleb Plant
– Demetrius Andrade

Neither of those events reportedly brought in big PPV numbers, but those weren’t the right opponents for Benavidez to fight on PPV. Morrell is a different story because he is undefeated, has tremendous power, and is considered a future star in the sport.

Some believe that Morrell has the power of boxing at the level of Artur Berterbiev. The only thing missing from Morrell’s game is inside combat and hitting volume.

Born in Cuba, the 26-year-old Morrell’s popularity skyrocketed during his short five-year career, and he captured his first world title in just his fifth fight, defeating Mario Abel Cazares by knockout in the first round. WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight belt on June 27, 2021.