David Morrell is in search of redemption towards unbeaten mild heavyweight contender Imam Khataev subsequent Saturday evening, July twelfth, on DAZN PPV in Queens, New York.
Though this isn’t a world title eliminator, there’s nonetheless rather a lot at stake for each fighters, particularly Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs), who’s coming off a loss and can’t afford to undergo one other one. A loss right here for Morrell would power him to make a troublesome resolution about his profession.
The winner of this struggle will probably be ignored and prevented by unified champion Dmitry Bivol. However they’ll be able to choose up the belts as they’re being stripped from Bivol one after the other.
Morrell is ranked #2 WBA, #2 WBC, #3 WBO, and #8 by The Ring. He’s acquired the athleticism and the technical abilities to defeat what some followers have labeled ‘The subsequent Beterbiev.’ He’s going to have to determine the precise recreation plan to make use of and adapt if one thing isn’t working.
Khataev’s Energy & Weaknesses
In Morrell’s 12-round resolution loss to David Benavidez final February, he waited too lengthy to adapt and fell too far behind to make up for misplaced floor. Khataev (10-0, 9 KOs) has higher energy than Benavidez and is simply as aggressive as he was. What he lacks is pace, stamina, and mobility. That’s one thing that the youthful fighter, Morrell, 27, can capitalize on.
In coaching clips, Morrell was seen bouncing across the ring, resembling British fighter Ben Whittaker, a boxer whom Khataev misplaced to within the 2020 Olympic finals. Whittaker made it troublesome for Khataev to land multiple punch in any sequence and neutralized his energy.
Morrell confirmed in his final struggle and lots of others that he has the ability to publish up and beat Khataev at his personal recreation by slugging it out with him. If Morrell is prepared to go to warfare with him, he’s acquired the offensive armament to put on him down and knock him out.
In Khataev’s final struggle towards journeyman Durval Elias Palacio, he was shelled with combos late within the struggle. There was one sequence through which Palacio appeared near scoring a knockout after tagging Khataev with a rapid-fire eight-punch mixture, with each shot touchdown. Khataev appeared in unhealthy form, together with his eyes all jacked up and his face worn from the heavy leather-based he’d taken.
If Morrell and Khataev have been higher identified to U.S. followers, their struggle would probably have been positioned larger on the July twelfth card, because it guarantees to be extra entertaining than two of the fights positioned forward of them.
Boxing Information 24 » A Combat for Survival and Legacy: David Morrell Should Conquer the Undefeated Storm of Imam Khataev to Reclaim His Throne
Final Up to date on 07/06/2025
