David Morrell tentatively fights on December 21 at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota in what would be his first defense of his WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title against an opponent yet to be determined.
Morrell, 26, captured the WBA secondary 175-lb belt earlier this month, defeating Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic (29-3, 21 KOs) via a 12-round unanimous decision on August 3 at the BMO Stadium in Las Vegas.
Call out the ‘Mexican Monster’
The Box Source reports that Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) plans to fight on December 21st. No word yet on who Morrell will defend against. He recently called out David Benavidez again and let fans know he wants to beat the ‘Mexican Monster’. A win for Morrell over Benavidez would make him the WBC mandatory for the winner of the October 12th fight between light heavyweight champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitri Bivol.
“I want Benavidez. Everybody knows it’s him, and I want to show everybody I’m the best at 175,” Morrell said. “Everyone says he’s the bogeyman, but I’m here.”
It was Cuban talent Morrell’s debut at 175, and he looked good. He hurt Kalajdzic several times en route to winning by scores of 17-111, 117-111 and 118-110. He would have finished Kalajdzic if he had put his punches together for a sustained combination as he was close to being stopped.
Adjust to the new weight class
The fight showed that Morrell needed to change his fighting style, concentrating more on combination punches and lessons on throwing single punches. At 168, Morrell’s power was good enough to hurt his opponents with single punches and finish them with a short follow-up volley. 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 doesn’t want to take the bait, one of those fighters would be good for Morrell.
