The circumstances around David Morrell's last fight were not ideal.

Morrell made his light heavyweight debut outdoors in the scorching Los Angeles summer sun at 4 p.m. in front of a light crowd, deep on the undercard of Terence Crawford’s conquest of Israil Madrimov on August 3.

Opposing him that day was the very game former title challenger Radivoje Kalajdzic. “Hot Rod” sometimes made matters uncomfortable for Morrell, even convincingly winning a handful of rounds by outboxing Morrell, who came into the clash riding a seven-fight KO streak.

Morrell, however, did more than enough to score a unanimous decision win via scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 117-111.

On Saturday night, the Cuban contender Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) can’t afford to play it close in his high-stakes contest against David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Prime Video pay per view.

“My personality is not to make excuses. Fatigue was not an issue, but [the circumstances in the Kalajdzic fight were] crazy,” Morrell told The Ring. “Now I'm more focused and calm for Benavidez.

“His power doesn't phase me. He's not some kind of knockout artist who is going to get you with one punch. He wins due to the accumulation of punches that he throws. We've focused on conditioning, building up our strength, and I will be in great shape come fight night.”

Benavidez and Morrell have both boasted a big game during the buildup of the fight filled with frequent foul-mouthed braggadocio. Benavidez has promised to break the face of Morrell.

Morrell, meanwhile, has billed Benavidez’s fighting style as robotic and is predicting a stoppage.

“Patience is a virtue,” said Morrell. “I need to take my time more in the fight, round by round. I need to pace myself better. I'm more calm now. I don't rush. I love it when people say 'I can't do it.' It's going to be an eighth-round knockout.”