David Morrell and Aidos Yerbossynuly Have the Same Objective: David Benavidez

Both Cuban David Morrell and Kazakh Aidos Yerbossynuly are aware that the immediate task is to have their arms raised when they meet on November 5^th, at the Armory Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Morrell will defend his WBA super middleweight title in a fight that will be broadcast on Showtime.

However, both have their sights on one of the strongest 168-pound punchers: undefeated Mexican-American boxer David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) who has been pursuing a fight with Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, the undisputed king of the division.

Twenty-four-year-old southpaw Morrell (7-0-0, 6 KOs) affirms that he cannot minimize the punching power of his also undefeated opponent, Yerbossynuly (16-0 -0, 11 KOs), who has won his last two fights within the distance.

“He probably is the toughest opponent that I’ve faced,” stated Morrell. “He’s faced some really good European fighters and I’m well aware of how tough he is. But I’m back in my house to give my fans a great show. I don’t think that he’s my most dangerous opponent, but I’m not underestimating him. Every fighter is dangerous and reaches this point for a reason. He’s been fighting well and scoring knockouts, but I’m facing this challenge like I would any other.”

World champion in the youth ranks and now with a title as a professional fighter, Morrell added that he has had an excellent training camp with his coach Ronnie Shields in Texas and he feels physically, technically and mentally ready for the upcoming fight.

“Power will be a factor but I don’t think it’s the deciding factor,” Morrell said.  “It’s going to be about being versatile and using the power to your advantage. Aidos is going to see how loud The Armory can be on November 5. I’m going to be ready for whatever comes my way in this fight.”

“Right now I’m only focused on this fight. I’m not focused on David Benavidez or any other fighter. I’m just focused on getting a win on November 5^th,” Morrell noted. But referring to the future he added, “My goal is to fight David Benavidez. He says that nobody wants to fight with him, but here I am. I’m ready for the fight.”

Morrell, who arrived from his native Cuba five years ago, won the interim WBA title by unanimously defeating Lennox Allen (22-2-1, 14 KOs) on August 8. 2020, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, 13 months later, the southpaw Allen fell victim to Yerbossynuly, who knocked him out in the tenth round in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Yerbossynuly, who is at the top of the WBA rankings, recognizes Morrell’s talents, “Morrell is a good fighter from the Cuban boxing school. He’s got great skills and I respect him as a fighter and an athlete. It’s nothing but respect until we get into the ring.”

Yerbossynuly continued, “I train the same for every opponent. I’m working hard just like I have for each fighter before Morrell. There’s nothing special that I have to do to prepare for David Morrell Jr. We are descendants of Nomadic warriors. We’re not scared of any challenges. We want the belt and it doesn’t matter if we’re in his hometown. It’s the way of the warrior. We’re not counting on our power. We’re counting on our mind. The mindset is the most important thing in this fight.”

“Everybody wants to fight Canelo Alvarez for the payday,” Yerbossynuly said. “After David Morrell Jr., I’d also like to fight David Benavidez next. I want to prove myself and then make the fight with Canelo.”

IS DAVID BENAVIDEZ ABOUT TO FACE CALEB PLANT?

Aside from the intentions of Morrell and Yerbossynuly, David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) has his own personal goals.  It was reported that Benavidez was very close to signing a contract with Venezuelan veteran José Uzcátegui (32-4, 27 KOs) for early 2023, but it appears that this fight has been scrapped in favor of a more attractive match between Benavidez and former IBF super middleweight title-holder Caleb Plant (22-1, 13 KOs). Both Benavidez and Plant announced the match to their social media followers but there are many details yet to be worked out.

Photo credit: Esther Lin / SHOWTIME

Article submitted by Jorge Juan Alvarez in Spanish.

Please note any adjustments were made for clarification purposes and any errors in translation were unintentional.

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