Following his defeat against David Benavidez, David Morrell Jr. has acknowledged gaining valuable lessons.
The highly anticipated bout between the two light-heavyweights took place on February 1st at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. An intense build-up preceded an absorbing fight, which Benavidez won by a unanimous decision from the three judges.
Since then, Benavidez has been elevated from WBC interim belt-holder to the officially recognized WBC light-heavyweight world champion. Morrell, however, must rebuild his path, starting on July 12th against the undefeated Russian Imam Khataev.
Reflecting on the fight against Benavidez and what he learned, Morrell stated, “I want to go back to being David Morrell Jr, to be myself again.”
He elaborated, “I maybe got caught up in some things that I couldn’t control – some things my opponent was doing. It was a big lesson. I need to stay focused on what I can control, focus on my game and come out and execute the game plan.”
Morrell vowed to avoid overconfidence and to study his future opponents more diligently. The 27-year-old was also asked about the possibility of facing Benavidez again.
“100%,” he responded. “I feel confident I’m going to get that rematch in the near future as long as I earn it.”
While defeating Khataev on the Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda undercard next month won`t instantly secure a second chance against Benavidez, it will be a significant victory nonetheless. The 30-year-old Khataev, like Morrell, had a distinguished amateur career, competing in the 2020 Olympic Games where he earned a Bronze medal after losing to Ben Whittaker in the light-heavyweight semi-finals. With an undefeated record in 10 professional bouts, Khataev presents a serious challenge to Morrell’s world title aspirations.
Predicting the upcoming fight, Morrell said, “It’s going to be a war. We’re both going to come forward and it’s going to be an action-packed fight.”
