David Morrell is looking for redemption against unbeaten light heavyweight contender Imam Khataev next Saturday night, July 12th, on DAZN PPV in Queens, New York.
Although this isn’t a world title eliminator, there’s still a lot at stake for both fighters, especially Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs), who is coming off a loss and cannot afford to suffer another one. A loss here for Morrell would force him to make a difficult decision about his career.
The winner of this fight will likely be ignored and avoided by unified champion Dmitry Bivol. But they’ll be in a position to pick up the belts as they’re being stripped from Bivol one by one.
Morrell is ranked #2 WBA, #2 WBC, #3 WBO, and #8 by The Ring. He’s got the athleticism and the technical skills to defeat what some fans have labeled ‘The next Beterbiev.’ He’s going to have to figure out the right game plan to use and adapt if something isn’t working.
Khataev’s Power & Weaknesses
In Morrell’s 12-round decision loss to David Benavidez last February, he waited too long to adapt and fell too far behind to make up for lost ground. Khataev (10-0, 9 KOs) has better power than Benavidez and is just as aggressive as he was. What he lacks is speed, stamina, and mobility. That’s something that the younger fighter, Morrell, 27, can capitalize on.
In training clips, Morrell was seen bouncing around the ring, resembling British fighter Ben Whittaker, a boxer whom Khataev lost to in the 2020 Olympic finals. Whittaker made it difficult for Khataev to land more than one punch in any sequence and neutralized his power.
Morrell showed in his last fight and many others that he has the power to post up and beat Khataev at his own game by slugging it out with him. If Morrell is willing to go to war with him, he’s got the offensive armament to wear him down and knock him out.
In Khataev’s last fight against journeyman Durval Elias Palacio, he was shelled with combinations late in the fight. There was one sequence in which Palacio appeared close to scoring a knockout after tagging Khataev with a rapid-fire eight-punch combination, with every shot landing. Khataev looked in bad shape, with his eyes all jacked up and his face worn from the heavy leather he’d taken.
If Morrell and Khataev were better known to U.S. fans, their fight would likely have been placed higher on the July 12th card, as it promises to be more entertaining than two of the fights positioned ahead of them.
Last Updated on 07/06/2025
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