David Morrell is planning on beating Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic on Saturday night, August 3rd, and then facing the winner of the October 12th fight undisputed 175-lb championship fight between champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
The unbeaten Morrell will be fighting for the WBA World light heavyweight title against “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs) on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season event at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV.
Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) would be cutting in line at light heavyweight, stepping in front of WBC mandatory challenger David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs), who has dibs on being next for the Beterbiev-Bivol winner. Turki will decide who will fight the winner of that fight, but Morrell can help his chances if he destroys Kalajdzic on Saturday.
Kalajdzic, 33, has excellent power and is an aggressive fighter who likes to go to war with his opponents. He’s going to be going right at Morrell on Saturday, looking to slug with him like he did in his clash against Artur Beterbiev in 2019. He was destroyed in five brutally one-sided rounds by Beterbiev, who had too much power and skills for him.
“It’s a great division. You’ve got two champions that are about to unify, so there will be one champion in October,” said coach Ronnie Shields to MillCity Boxing, referring to David Morrell’s move up to 175 on Saturday night against Kalajdzic.
Shields is Morrell’s trainer, and he wants him to get a title shot as soon as possible against the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol clash.
Morrell had waited for a chance to fight Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez, and Jaime Munguia at 168 but never got the opportunity. He doesn’t want to have the same thing happen to him at 175 and lose out on making a name for himself because he was being avoided.
Shields’ Confidence in Morrell’s Potential
“I think he’s one of the best out there. He’s young, he has agility, and this kid has everything it takes to be a world champion,” Shields said about Morrell. “The main thing is to keep him focused, take advantage of the opportunity when it comes, and become champion of the world.”
If Morrell can’t get a fight against Beterbiev or Bivol, he says he’d like to fight former WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez. However, Morrell may have to settle for former WBC light heavyweight champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk, who has been mentioned as a potential next opponent for him.
“He’s sparring with bigger guys, and he’s faster than them because he’s moving up,” said Shields about Morrell. “As long as he keeps his speed and his power, he should be great. ‘Hot Rod’ has been around for a while. He has a lot of fights and has a lot of experience. We just have to take advantage of every little thing.”
Kalajdzic is a 13-year pro and has won his last five fights since being knocked out by Artur Beterbiev in 2019. He’s coming off a tenth-round knockout of 42-year-old Sullivan Barrera last March. That fighter is the most recognizable name Kalajdzic has fought in the last four years. The other notable guy Kalajdzic has beaten is Denis Grachev.
Morrell’s Determination to Face the Elite
“I would love Morrell to fight the winner of the undisputed fight out of Beterbiev and Bivol. I think that’s the goal of fighting the best, and these two are the best,” said Shields.
If Beterbiev and Bivol don’t choose to fight an immediate rematch, it would be great to see Morrell fight the winner of that fight. If the Beterbiev-Bivol fight is close, it’s a given that they’ll fight again right away. Morrell will have to look in another direction towards Gvozdyk or Benavidez.
Other appealing options at 175 for Morrell:
– Anthony Yarde
– Willy Hutchinson
– Joshua Buatsi
– Albert Ramirez
– Dan Azeez
– Callum Smith
“So that’s where we need to go,” said Shields about wanting his fighter, David Morrell, to take on the winner of the October 12th undisputed light heavyweight championship between champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
“Without a doubt. All this kid [Morrell] talks about is wanting to fight the best in the world. He wants to be there. He wants people talking about him, trying to fight him,” said Shields.
It doesn’t help Morrell to wait longer before fighting the top guys, Beterbiev and Bivol, because they’re getting older and won’t be around much longer. With those guys retiring soon, the 175-lb division will have only a few compelling options for Morrell.
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