Mike Tyson’s Ex-Coach Suspects Foul Play as David Benavidez’s Win Over David Morrell Sparks Controversy

Boxing is often a brilliant display of skill and strategy, showcasing the intellect and athleticism of its participants. However, the sport isn’t always as clean as it seems, and dirty tactics are more common than many might realize. Take the recent fight between David Benavidez and David Morrell in Las Vegas, for example. 

Benavidez emerged victorious after a grueling 12 rounds, successfully defending his ‘Interim’ WBC title and securing the WBA (Regular) light heavyweight title. But according to legendary trainer and ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas, who trained Mike Tyson back in the day, Benavidez employed some clever—but controversial—tactics to swing the fight in his favor.

Benavidez, of course, seemed slow when the fight started, with Morrell showcasing that his experience in the amateurs was nothing to scoff at. However, as the rounds progressed, Benavidez slowly but surely took over the fight, scoring more punches landed. During this time, you may have noticed Benavidez pull a particular move.

He would reach over to Morrell’s solid guard and pull his hand down his hand with the help of his gloves to land a punch. During the latest episode of ‘The Fight with Teddy Atlas,’ the 68-year-old argued that it’s not a legal move. “[Benavidez] used his left hand to pull down the left hand of Morrell, and then hit him with the right hand as he did it,” Atlas began.

“I don’t know if that’s even allowed,” he added. While Atlas didn’t directly accuse Benavidez of playing dirty, he pointed out that it was the referee’s job to stop such moves. “I’m not saying he did anything dirty. It’s up to the referee to say, ‘You can’t do it’,” Atlas explained. He further added that not every referee would allow a boxer to do such things in a fight.

Despite the legality of such a move, Atlas praised Benavidez for using the move to get ahead in the fight. “That was smart, [it] shows he’s thinking, he’s seeing. That’s a smart move,” Atlas explained in his video. Although the move itself may not have been particularly damaging, it’s important to note that another incident during the fight sparked a backlash against referee Thomas Taylor, who was overseeing the action.

Thomas Taylor was accused of cheating during David Benavidez vs. David Morrell

Benavidez was already leading the scorecards by the time the 11th round came around. However, then something unexpected happened, Morrell scored a surprise knockdown. It was only the second time Benavidez had gone down in a fight. There was hope again for Morrell, but that would change at the end of the round.

As the bell rang, indicating the end of the round, a stray punch from Morrell landed square on Benavidez. Referee Thomas Taylor didn’t let it go and deducted a point from Morrell, nullifying the knockdown. You have to remember that Taylor was allowing Benavidez to pull Morrell’s guard down when it’s not allowed, but a stray punch resulted in a point deduction. 

Regardless, seeing this unjust treatment from the referee, Gervonta Davis, who had predicted Benavidez to win, hopped on X to call out the referee. He wrote in a now-deleted tweet, “The ref cheatinggg!!!!”

Having said that, whether David Benavidez cheated and the referee favored him is up to you to decide. But as far as Teddy Atlas is concerned Benavidez’s move to pull Morrell’s guard was illegal, and certain referees would not have allowed it to happen. What do you think? Should the referee have deducted a point from Benavidez as well?