David Morrell says beating Aidos Yerbossynuly on Saturday “is of vital importance”
David Morrell has a long, distinguished amateur past from fighting in Cuba. Still, you get the sense that the talented 24-year-old super middleweight southpaw, ranked No. 6 by The Ring, is just getting started.
Morrell (7-0, 6 knockouts) will take on Aidos Yerbossynuly (16-0, 11 KOs) this Saturday in the 12-round main event on Showtime Championship Boxing (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Morrell says it will be a challenging fight, with the main goal being to keep his undefeated record intact to aim for bigger names in the 168-pound class.
The Cuban expatriate, who now calls Minneapolis home, is carrying a four-fight streak in which he’s stopped his opponents inside the distance. The most recent victory came in June against Kalvin Henderson in the fourth round of a Showtime-televised bout.
“The biggest lesson that I learned in my last fight is that I don’t have to be so eager inside the ring,” Morrell said through an interpreter. “Everyone, from my family members, my dad, my brother, to everyone on my team, were like, ‘You were so over-eager during that fight that you have to calm down and think things through.’ I can’t be so wired trying to finish things off so early. I have to let the fight come to me. This fight is of vital importance to me.
“I not only have my record and my tail on the line, fighting at home against a quality opponent; this could give me the opportunity to fight bigger names in the division. This fight is really important for me to do the things that we work on in training camp. It’s something that I really plan to emphasize during Saturday’s fight.”
Yerbossynuly and Morrell have faced one common opponent, Lennox Allen, who is the only fighter that has pushed Morrell the distance in his brief pro career. In Yerbossynuly’s most recent fight over a year ago, the undefeated Kazakhstani stopped Allen in 10.
“People can think about David Morrell whatever they want to, but I’m confident about myself,” Yerbossynuly told BoxingScene.com’s Keith Idec. “There’s nothing special about him. He’s just a regular opponent.
“I was ready to take this fight after I defeated Lennox Allen and became the mandatory. Promoters had other plans, maybe. I was frustrated when he fought Kalvin Henderson on June 4th. It was supposed to be me instead of Kalvin Henderson. At that time, I was a little upset. But we figured out everything and I’m fighting him now. Having the belt will open it up for bigger names for me to fight, so now it’s OK.”
Morrell is just as confident about winning but gives credit to his opponent.
“[Yerbossynuly] is a good fighter — a smart, tactical fighter who is not to be overlooked,” Morrell said. “He has my full respect, and hopefully we put up a good fight. My whole focus is on him.”
Morrell also stressed that he has not become intoxicated by his own punching power.
“It’s not really about looking for the knockout,” he said. “If the opportunity comes, of course I will try for the knockout. It’s about being in the moment and seeing what is there for me. This is going to be an exciting fight. You’re going to see the best version of me. Everyone is going to see a different side of me.”
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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