It’s rare in boxing in this day and age to see two hungry, young, determined, and, let’s be honest, elite-level fighters willing to put their undefeated records on the line in a fight that isn’t even for a full world title.

This Saturday night, though, we get just that. Mexico vs. Cuba, David Benavidez vs. David Morrell Jr., 29-0 with an 82.76% KO ratio vs. 11-0 with an 81.82% KO ratio—the ULTIMATE Latino showdown.

Have your eyes lit up yet? If not, we guarantee they will by the end of this preview.

Let’s start by taking a look at the Mexican, David Benavidez.

A man who stopped 17 of his first 18 opponents as a professional, he’s barely been tested so far, with his career fight tally now up to a perfect 29 fights.

After floating between super-middleweight and light-heavyweight early in his career, he found a home at 168 lbs and became the WBC World Champion at just 20 years old when he defeated Ronald Gavril by split decision, before securing a more convincing unanimous decision victory over the Romanian in the immediate rematch.

Since then, he has continued to impress with standout victories over former world champions such as Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade, and Oleksandr Gvozdyk—three fantastic names to have on your CV.

Stylistically, he embodies everything that the stereotypical opinion of Mexican boxers suggests: tough, strong, relentless, and exciting. That’s pretty much David Benavidez to a tee. However, this young man has something that not many boxers can claim to have been blessed with—X-factor.

He talks the talk outside the ring and walks the walk inside it.

Understandably, he has been chasing a fight with pound-for-pound star Canelo Alvarez, a bout that could probably sell out the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City ten times over. But that fight has yet to come to fruition.

Instead, he is now chasing a shot at either Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol in his quest for greatness. But first, he must get past the outstanding David Morrell Jr.

A standout amateur who won gold at the Youth World Championships, Morrell has continued to fulfill the potential he showed from a young age in the paid ranks.

At 11-0 with nine wins by stoppage, he has pretty much obliterated everything and everyone put in front of him so far, aside from a tough 12 rounds against Radivoje Kalajdzic in his last fight.

Easy on the eye inside the ring to the point where you can almost hear the dulcet tones of Cuban salsa while watching him box, the sharp southpaw isn’t just a "box and move" merchant. He is a fighter who knows how to sit down on his punches—hence why he has stopped nine of his 11 opponents as a professional.

Every time he steps into the ring, he looks like he is enjoying every single moment.

Like Benavidez, Morrell Jr. has campaigned at super-middleweight for the majority of his career, but he now finds himself up at 175 lbs, preparing for the biggest test of his career against the Mexican-American.

So, onto the fight itself.

When we say 50/50, this really is a proper, good, old-fashioned 50/50 tear-up.

If the fighters' similar levels of quality weren’t enough to sell you on this bout, the extra bit of needle between them in the build-up should be enough to get you excited at the thought of these two finally clashing.

Despite winning 13 of his first 14 fights as a professional inside four rounds, Benavidez has built a bit of a reputation at the world level for being a slow starter, with just one of his last eight victories coming inside six rounds.

Meanwhile, Morrell has been past four rounds on just three occasions in his 11 professional contests. However, those three fights all went 12 rounds, aside from his 12th-round stoppage win over Aidos Yerbossynuly. That means he averages less than five rounds per fight so far in his career.

From that narrative, the pendulum swings massively in Morrell’s favor early on. But one thing you can’t buy in boxing is experience, and the longer this fight goes, the more it will play into Benavidez’s hands.

The American prides himself on his grit and determination. He prides himself on grinding down his opponents and taking them into waters they’ve never even sailed in, let alone swum in. He prides himself on causing his opposition hell.

Morrell got a massive gut check in his last fight against Kalajdzic. Before that, he had barely lost a round, but the Serbian truly tested him. You could argue that Morrell overlooked his opponent, leading to his complacency early in the fight. But if he puts in a similar performance here—which we very much doubt he will—he’ll get eaten alive by Benavidez.

If these two stand in the middle and trade, it will inevitably work in Benavidez’s favor. However, if Benavidez fights on emotion, he could well get picked apart. Morrell has the quicker feet, faster hands, and better boxing IQ, so he has the potential to make Benavidez look foolish.

If that is the case, it will come down to whether Benavidez has the mental fortitude to stay calm and ride the storm. There will be moments in this fight when Morrell counters Benavidez and lands heavy shots, but the Mexican cannot let that get to him. He needs to stick to his game plan, work the body, fight dirty, and ultimately grind the Cuban down.

For Morrell, the game plan is simple: outbox David Benavidez and ensure he has the endurance to go all 12 rounds because, against Benavidez, he will need it.

The winner of this fight will likely go on to face the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol. But for the loser, it won’t be all doom and gloom. They are both young enough to rebuild, so don’t be surprised to see both of them holding another world title in the coming years.

Before the main event, there is a cracking undercard.

Stephen Fulton will aim to become a two-weight world champion when he faces reigning WBC Featherweight Champion Brandon Figueroa. Meanwhile, Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, who recently turned down a fight with Ryan Garcia in May to focus on this bout, will look to return to winning ways against Angel Fierro.

Over in the UK, George Liddard headlines a solid domestic card at the O2 Indigo against Derrick Osaze, while the hard-hitting Junaid Bostan looks to capture the vacant English Super-Welterweight Title against Bilal Fawaz on the same card.

Adam Azim faces the toughest test of his career so far against former world champion Sergey Lipinets at Wembley Arena on Saturday night, with the exciting and popular Callum Simpson defending his Commonwealth Super-Middleweight Title for the second time in less than a month against Ghanaian Elvis Ahorgah.

A brilliant weekend of boxing lies ahead—definitely not to be missed.