Morrell's goal: Shine in Davis-Garcia co-feature to set up big fights
Rising Cuban star defends secondary super middleweight title
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David Morrell will defend his WBA “regular” super middleweight title on Saturday in what amounts to an audition for a much bigger fight in the 168-pound division — and he knows it.
Morrell will make his fifth defense against fellow southpaw Yamaguchi Falcao in the high-profile co-feature slot on the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia card (Showtime PPV and PPV.com, 8 p.m. ET) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It’s the biggest card of the year so far and Morrell wants to shine against Falcao (24-1-1, 10 KOs), a 2012 Brazilian Olympic bronze medalist who stepped in on Friday when original opponent Sena Agbeko (27-2, 21 KOs) was forced out of the fight because the Nevada State Athletic Commission declined to license him for undisclosed reasons.
As the WBA’s secondary titleholder, Morrell is already a mandatory challenger for undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s biggest star. But even if that fight would not come his way for at least the rest of this year, there are other notable bout he could find himself part of.
“With all the big fights in the super middleweight, winning this fight means everything,” Morrell said. “If I’m going to fight (WBC interim titlist) David Benavidez, Canelo Alvarez, (WBC middleweight titleholder) Jermall Charlo or any of the other big names in boxing, I must win this fight. So, everything is on the line. A win will get me to the biggest fights in the sport.”
Fights with Benavidez or Charlo would be relatively easy to make since they are all with Premier Boxing Champions and fight on Showtime.
Morrell (8-0, 7 KOs), 25, a Cuba native based in Minneapolis, does not have much professional experience but his deep amateur background in Cuba more than makes up for it, which is why he has progressed so quickly since turning pro in 2019.
Despite the late opponent change, the Ronnie Shields-trained Morrell said he is not too concerned about adapting.
“For most fighters it might be difficult to adjust to a new opponent, especially being that Falcao is a southpaw, but I’ve seen so many styles that I feel confident with anyone that’s across the ring from me,” Morrell said. “Falcao is on a nice winning streak and I’m sure his confidence is at an all-time high. He knows that winning this fight could change his life dramatically, so I know he’s coming to fight.
“I have plans to take him out and send another message to the entire super middleweight division. Falcao is a good fighter, but I’m better in all aspects.”
Falcao, who is the older brother of unbeaten middleweight contender Esquiva Falcao, had a rough 2019, losing a 10-round decision to Christopher Pearson and fighting to a majority draw with D’Mitrius Ballard. He did not fight at all in the Covid-impacted 2020. But since 2021, Falcao has won eight fights in a row during a very active stretch.
While winning will position Morrell for far more significant fights, he said he is also pumped up to be featured on such a major card and to fight in Las Vegas for the first time.
“I’ve been training with a purpose since I got the word that I’ll be fighting on one of the biggest cards of the last 10 years,” Morrell said. “Ronnie Shields and I have been working endlessly to get everything fine-tuned.
“As a kid, I would always dream about what it would be like to fight in Las Vegas, and here we are. It’s a tremendous blessing. I’ve worked hard to get to this point in my career and I’m ready to become a star. I want to thank my team for getting me this fight. Davis versus Garcia is going to be one of the most watched PPV events in modern-day history. My goal is to shine on the big stage and steal the show.”
There are also two other fights on the on the pay-per-view portion of the undercard, both scheduled for 10 rounds:
Super middleweights Gabriel Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs), 37, of Philadelphia, and Bektemir Melikuziev (11-1, 9 KOs), 26, a southpaw from Uzbekistan fighting out of Indio, California, meet in a rematch. The first squared off in June 2021 and Rosado notched a tremendous upset when he spectacularly knocked out “The Bully” in the third round.
Middleweight up-and-comer Elijah Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs), 19, a southpaw from Phoenix, will face Kevin Salgado (15-1-1, 10 KOs), 25, a Mexico native fighting out of San Antonio, who is the younger brother of former junior lightweight titlist Juan Carlos Salgado. Garcia is coming off a very impressive fourth-round knockout of then-unbeaten Amilcar Vidal Jr. on Showtime on March 4.
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Morrell photo: Hosanna Rull/iRull Fotos
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In a world that's just. Morrell versus Bek Bully would've been the perfect co-main this Saturday.