Promoter Eddie Hearn says he would be interested in David Morrell fighting Callum Smith next for his WBO interim light heavyweight title. Morrell’s management will need to pay the asking price.
The way Hearn is talking, he has no interest in letting Morrell anywhere near Smith, especially with him turning his career around with a victory over Joshua Buatsi last month. No one expected Smith to win that fight. Hearn should admit he doesn’t want Morrell to wreck things by beating Callum.
The Price of Morrell
Other than money, Hearn sees no value in Callum Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) fighting the recently beaten former WBA ‘regular’ 175-lb champion Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs). It’s unclear what kind of money Hearn would expect from the Cuban Morrell’s management to fight Smith for his WBO interim belt.
Hearn points out that Smith, 34, is the WBO mandatory for undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. So, all Callum needs to do is sit and wait. Eventually, he will get a world title shot against Bivol or whoever holds the WBO title.
Morrell lost his last fight to David Benavidez by a competitive 12-round unanimous decision on February 1st. Benavidez turned out to be too skilled for Morrell, who made a lot of criticism mistakes with his fight strategy. With Morrell’s power and athleticism, he had the tools to win the fight, but he didn’t use the right approach.
It’s doubtful that Smith could take the punishment that Morrell dealt out against Benavidez without folding up. He hits harder than Artur Beterbiev, and we saw what he did to Callum.
“We had a conversation about the David Morrell fight. If I’m honest, why would we fight David Morrell? I know the fans might be, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s a good fight,’” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social about his disinterest in matching Callum Smith against David Morrell.
It’s a good fight for Callum to take while he waits for his eventual title shot against whoever holds the WBO title after undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol faces Artur Beterbiev again in their trilogy match. That fight is going to happen. Smith can’t just sit around and wait. He needs to stay busy, and Morrell would be perfect.
“I’m just telling you honestly. If I’m Callum Smith, and I just beat Buatsi, and I’m the WBO interim [light heavyweight] world champion. I’m mandatory for Dmitry Bivol at some point.
Why would I fight Morrell, who just lost to David Benavidez, who doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table, and he is a tough fight? I rate Morrell. So, you got to pay me the money. If you want to fight for the WBO interim world championship and you want to fight Callum Smith, we’ll fight Morrell. But what are we fighting for? Money.
“Callum Smith really isn’t like that. He made a lot of money, and what he wants is a shot at the world championship. But if you want him to fight David Morrell, then you’ve got to pay him. If not, we’re fine. We’ll wait our turn to fight for the world championship. Maybe, we’ll have a show in Liverpool in the meantime, but Callum is in a great position.
“He just had a very tough fight. So, no tearing rush. He’s in a good position,” said Hearn about Smith.
Last Updated on 03/20/2025
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