David Morrell is tentatively fighting on December 21st at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in what would be his first defense of his WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
Morrell, 26, captured the WBA secondary 175-lb belt earlier this month, defeating Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic (29-3, 21 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision on August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Las Vegas.
Calling out The ‘Mexican Monster’
The Boxing Source reports that Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) plans to fight on December 21st. There’s no word yet on who Morrell will defend against. He recently called out David Benavidez again, letting fans know he wants to beat the ‘Mexican Monster.’ A win for Morrell over Benavidez would set him up as the WBC mandatory for the winner of the October 12th fight between light heavyweight champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
“I want Benavidez. Everybody knows it’s him, and I want to show everyone I’m the best at 175,” Morrell said. “Everyone says he’s the bogeyman, but I’m here.”
That was the Cuban talent Morrell’s debut at 175, and he looked good. He hurt Kalajdzic multiple times en route to winning by the scores of 17-111, 117-111, and 118-110. He would have finished off Kalajdzic if he’d put his punches together for a sustained combination because he was close to being stopped.
Adapting to The New Weight Class
The fight showed that Morrell needed to change his fighting style, focusing more on combination punching and lessons on throwing single shots. At 168, Morrell’s power was good enough to hurt his opponents with single shots and finish them with a short follow-up burst. That style won’t work for him at 175. He needs to be more relentless, like Beterbiev, to get knockouts.
Morrell needs a good opponent for his December 21st fight. Anthony Yarde, Lyndon Arthur, Ben Whitaker, Willy Hutchinson, or Alberto Ramirez would be ideal for him. If Benavidez won’t take the bait, one of those fighters would be good for Morrell.
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