David Benavidez and David Morrell are ready to throw hands with their in-ring encounter still more than a month away.
The two are set to face off in a light heavyweight title fight on Feb. 1, but at an open workout in Miami on Tuesday, Benavidez and Morrell had a heated exchange that nearly broke out into a brawl.
Benavidez shoved Morrell after a faceoff, and Morrell responded by raising his WBA title high and hurling it at Benavidez, who ducked the throw.
See the confrontation below.
Benavidez and Morrell were visibly jawing at each other as they faced off, culminating in Benavidez delivering a hard shove to Morrell. As people moved to separate them, Morrell shot his shot, which fortunately did not result in his title belt hitting Benavidez or anyone else.
Both men bring championship belts with them when they meet at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Feb. 1. Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) won a vacant WBA interim light heavyweight title in his most recent outing this past June with a decision win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk, while Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) currently holds a WBA interim title that he claimed by defeating Radivoje Kalajdzic in August.
The winner could be in line to fight either Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol, with those two rematching for undisputed light heavyweight champion status on Feb. 22.
