Cuban light heavyweight David Morrell has vowed to bounce back after suffering his first career defeat at the hands of David “El Monstro” Benavidez on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

With loss, Morrell dropped the WBA "regular" light heavyweight title. The main WBC strap is held by undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev.

"It was a good fight,” said Morrell. “This is boxing, some days you win and some days you lose. Tonight was my turn. I'm young and I'll keep pushing for another opportunity.”

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) raised his undefeated record to a perfect 30, while Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) suffered his first defeat in 12 fights.

They threw over 1000 combined punches, with Benavidez earning the judges favor by scores of 118-108 and 115-111 twice.

Morrell had been calling for a fight with Benavidez for the last two years. There was plenty trash talking during that period of time and there was an avalanche of tempers during their fight week festivities.

"It was never bad blood for me,” said Morrell. “This moment feels great because we were able to give everyone a good show. I'm going to work my way back. We'll watch this fight and learn from what I didn't do well. We'll practice more and train harder and earn another fight against Benavidez. I know I can beat him.”