Prediction,

I think Benavidez wins this, I would not surprised if he stopped Dirrell, I don't think he will, but I think he will be dominant, and Dirrell will take a beating.

Dirrell is being written off, he is old, he was not impressive in his last fight, but he is a lot more experienced than Benavidez, as an amateur and professional, been in against the better fighters, and I don't think Benavidez has fought anyone as good as Dirrell. Dirrell hits hard, Benavidez's chin is questionable, so if Dirrell lands clean, it will be interesting to see how he takes it, and there is hype around Benavidez, he is only 22, if he makes a mistake, gets careless, Dirrell can counter him.

Although Dirrell's experience might be a factor, so might his age, he's 34, Benavidez is 22, so not at his strongest, but he is very big for the weight, and he is not too raw, has been 12 rounds twice, his opposition has not been bad.

I think the output of Benavidez will be too much for Dirrell, the pace he will set, Dirrell can't fight at for 12 rounds, and I think Benavidez can find the target, because although Dirrell has good foot movement, good basic guard, he doesn't move his head, can be static on the ropes, and he is open to body shots, Benavidez is a good body puncher, so he can take advantage of that.

I think Dirrell will move a lot in the early rounds, Benavidez will struggle to pin him down, Dirrell will land the 1,2, change direction, but if Benavidez stalks him, keeps the pressure on, he will close the range as the fight goes on, because Dirrell's movement will slow down.

I think Benavidez will take over the fight in the second half, as Dirrell's output drops, and he slows down, and that stage, Benavidez can cut off the ring and walk him down, and that's when Benavidez can go on the attack and land in high volume, to head and body. If Benavidez can hurt Dirrell with one shot in particular, or Dirrell stops moving completely, Benavidez can stop him, the corner is the worst place to be for Dirrell, against a strong, heavy handed fighter who punches in variety.

I don't think Benavidez will stop Dirrell because I think Dirrell will show more heart in this fight than he has in the past, he has a good chin as well, Dirrell. I don't think Benavidez will find that one shot, and although Dirrell's legs will slow down a lot in the second half, I don't think he will stand still on the ropes for long.

I think this will be a fight with two halves, the first half will be close, Benavidez will dominate the second half, and he will win a UD.