David Morrell is planning on beating Radivoje “Sizzling Rod” Kalajdzic on Saturday evening, August third, after which going through the winner of the October twelfth combat undisputed 175-lb championship combat between champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

(Credit score: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)

The unbeaten Morrell might be combating for the WBA World gentle heavyweight title towards “Sizzling Rod” Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs) on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season occasion on the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The occasion might be proven stay on DAZN PPV.

Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) can be reducing in line at gentle heavyweight, stepping in entrance of WBC necessary challenger David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs), who has dibs on being subsequent for the Beterbiev-Bivol winner. Turki will resolve who will combat the winner of that combat, however Morrell will help his probabilities if he destroys Kalajdzic on Saturday.

Kalajdzic, 33, has wonderful energy and is an aggressive fighter who likes to go to struggle along with his opponents. He’s going to be going proper at Morrell on Saturday, trying to slug with him like he did in his conflict towards Artur Beterbiev in 2019. He was destroyed in 5 brutally one-sided rounds by Beterbiev, who had an excessive amount of energy and expertise for him.

“It’s a fantastic division. You’ve bought two champions which can be about to unify, so there might be one champion in October,” mentioned coach Ronnie Shields to MillCity Boxing, referring to David Morrell’s transfer as much as 175 on Saturday evening towards Kalajdzic.

Shields is Morrell’s coach, and he desires him to get a title shot as quickly as potential towards the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol conflict.

Morrell had waited for an opportunity to combat Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez, and Jaime Munguia at 168 however by no means bought the chance. He doesn’t need to have the identical factor occur to him at 175 and lose out on making a reputation for himself as a result of he was being prevented.

Shields’ Confidence in Morrell’s Potential

“I believe he’s probably the greatest on the market. He’s younger, he has agility, and this child has the whole lot it takes to be a world champion,” Shields mentioned about Morrell. “The primary factor is to maintain him targeted, benefit from the chance when it comes, and grow to be champion of the world.”

If Morrell can’t get a combat towards Beterbiev or Bivol, he says he’d prefer to combat former WBC tremendous middleweight champion David Benavidez. Nonetheless, Morrell could must accept former WBC gentle heavyweight champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk, who has been talked about as a possible subsequent opponent for him.

“He’s sparring with greater guys, and he’s quicker than them as a result of he’s shifting up,” mentioned Shields about Morrell. “So long as he retains his velocity and his energy, he ought to be nice. ‘Sizzling Rod’ has been round for some time. He has plenty of fights and has plenty of expertise. We simply must benefit from each little factor.”

Kalajdzic is a 13-year professional and has received his final 5 fights since being knocked out by Artur Beterbiev in 2019. He’s coming off a tenth-round knockout of 42-year-old Sullivan Barrera final March. That fighter is essentially the most recognizable title Kalajdzic has fought within the final 4 years. The opposite notable man Kalajdzic has crushed is Denis Grachev.

Morrell’s Dedication to Face the Elite

“I might love Morrell to combat the winner of the undisputed combat out of Beterbiev and Bivol. I believe that’s the aim of combating the most effective, and these two are the most effective,” mentioned Shields.

If Beterbiev and Bivol don’t select to combat a right away rematch, it might be nice to see Morrell combat the winner of that combat. If the Beterbiev-Bivol combat is shut, it’s a provided that they’ll combat once more straight away. Morrell should look in one other path in the direction of Gvozdyk or Benavidez.

Different interesting choices at 175 for Morrell:

– Anthony Yarde
– Willy Hutchinson
– Joshua Buatsi
– Albert Ramirez
– Dan Azeez
– Callum Smith

“In order that’s the place we have to go,” mentioned Shields about wanting his fighter, David Morrell, to tackle the winner of the October twelfth undisputed gentle heavyweight championship between champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

“Indisputably. All this child [Morrell] talks about is eager to combat the most effective on the earth. He desires to be there. He desires individuals speaking about him, attempting to combat him,” mentioned Shields.

It doesn’t assist Morrell to attend longer earlier than combating the highest guys, Beterbiev and Bivol, as a result of they’re getting older and received’t be round for much longer. With these guys retiring quickly, the 175-lb division could have only some compelling choices for Morrell.