LOS ANGELES – David Morrell Jr. will make his maiden voyage as a light heavyweight fighter on Saturday night after steamrolling through the competition in the super middleweight division.
Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) has been a can’t-miss contender since turning pro in 2019, but he’s missed out on the big names in a loaded weight class, forced to crush C-list competition along the way.
Just like David Benavidez did in June, Morrell is moving on to bigger things and is ready to make a run at 175 pounds. His first test comes via “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs) as one of the undercard fights on Riyadh Season’s show at BMO Stadium, a card headlined by Terence Crawford’s fight against Israil Madrimov.
“At 168, nobody wants to fight me so I’m going to 175, so I can fight the big names. That’s why I came out at 175 for this,” said Morrell, a 26-year-old from Cuba who never came close to facing undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
“I want to put on a good show for my people, for my fans. This is a new David Morrell. This Morrell at 175 is vicious. I’m excited about the opportunities at this division.”
Morrell is trained by Ronnie Shields in Houston and needed just three rounds to dispose of his previous two opponents last year in Sena Agbeko and Yamaguchi Falcao. DraftKings has the hard-hitting Morrell listed as a -3000 betting favorite.
Kalajdzic is carrying plenty of momentum following a knockout win against former world title challenger Sullivan in Barrera in March while headlining a ProBox TV show in Florida.
Kalajdzic is a 33-year-old Serbian and 13-year pro based in St. Petersburg, Florida, whose only two losses have come against quality competition. Kalajdzic lost to Artur Beterbiev via fifth-round knockout in an IBF title fight in 2019 and to Marcus Browne in an eight-round split decision in 2016.
“I want to fight the best, and that’s why I signed up for the fight. He is the boogeyman and one of the best,” said Kalajdzic.
“Yeah [I am being underestimated]. They have me as a [heavy] underdog, and I don’t believe in that. I will have to show them on Saturday night. I’m not even looking at his size. David is good. He’s got skill, power and everything. It’s going to be a tough fight, and I believe he’s the best at 168 and now in this weight class. We will see Saturday night. … I’m just excited. He comes to fight, I come to fight. It’s going to be an exciting fight.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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