Photo: The Ring Magazine – Imam Khataev and David Morrell
Midway through the fifth round of his light-heavyweight showdown against Imam Khataev, heavily-favoured contender David Morrell finally appeared to have found his rhythm.
As Khataev, a bronze medalist in the 2020 Olympics advanced, Morrell, a Houston-based Cuban who began his career as a super middleweight, landed the straight left hand that made him one of the most feared punchers in that weight class. He also landed thudding right hooks to Khataev’s rib cage, heavy body blows that figured to pay off later.
If the first four rounds featured closely-contested, back-and-forth action, the fifth seemed to signal a shift in momentum, with Morrell showing the capacity crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, N.Y. that he was set to shift gears and leave Khataev in his dust.
But then Khataev, the 30-year-old native of Chechnya who trained for this bout in Montreal, landed a thunderous overhand right to Morrell’s chin, sending him to the canvas for the first time in his career.
Photo: The Ring Magazine – Imam Khataev and David Morrell
So we had our turning point; just not the one we anticipated.
Instead of seeing Morrell level up and outclass Khataev over the final five rounds, we watched Khataev adjust to Morrell’s adjustments, land the heaviest single punch of the fight, and salvage a round he had been losing. By boxing math it’s a three-point swing, the kind of sequence that can turn a tight loss into a razor-thin victory.’
But by the official numbers, we now know, the knockdown didn’t really matter. Judge John McKaie scored it 96-93 for Morrell, while Alan Nace had him winning 95-94. Together they overruled Tony Lundy, who scored the bout 95-94 for Khataev.
The scorecards say Morrell won and Khataev lost, but the eye test says something different.
We watched Khataev, who splits his training between Australia and Montreal, work his game plan, while Morrell looked brilliant in stretches but otherwise struggled to establish his offense. One of those two boxers will head into this week wishing he had been busier and more consistent on Saturday night – and it’s not the guy who lost.
Photo: DAZN – The final numbers…
So if we really are on the verge of a new era in the sport, where spotless records matter less than the skills and fighting spirit boxers display in the ring, then the industry shouldn’t punish Khataev for the loss by banishing him to the end of a long line of contenders. And no need to castigate Morrell for winning an iffy decision. He wasn’t scoring the fight. He was too busy dealing with Khataev. If you think the scorecards did Khataev wrong, the best way to make things right is with a rematch, as soon as is practical.
With the win, Morrell improves to 12-1, while the loss drops Khataev to 10-1 with nine knockouts. The bout went ahead despite the revelation by the International Testing Agency last week that a 2024 drug screening had detected the banned substance Clomiphene in Khataev’s sample. Khataev, who has passed all previous and subsequent tests, denied any wrongdoing, and was cleared to compete by the Association of Boxing Commissions.
The margin of Morrell’s victory might surprise bettors and bookmakers, who had made him a heavy favourite heading into Saturday. If we’re discussing expectations, they weren’t necessarily out of line.
Photo: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy Promotions – Imam Khataev and David Morrell
Morrell, after all, terrorized the super-middleweight division with his mix of skill, punching power and aggressiveness. His only loss is to David Benavidez, another 168-pound contender turned elite light heavyweight. Benavidez has rarely even been buzzed as a pro; Morrell dropped him.
Khataev, meanwhile, took some punishment before he bested Ezequiel Maderna in Montreal last September. And in his most recent bout he scored a lopsided decision win over Durval Elias Palacio, but faded in the late rounds.
So if bettors and fans and judges expected Morrell to impose his length and pedigree on Khataev, and outclass him over the distance, they had their reasons.
But once the bell rings, the fight you expected matters less than the fight that unfolds. So whether or not you expected Khataev to time Morrell’s right jab, and clip him with looping left hooks isn’t important. He did it, consistently, and disrupted Morrell’s offense in the process. And if you thought Morrell would let his hands go more often, and press the advantage when he had Khataev stunned, that’s fine. The fact is, he saved his best offensive effort for the final half-minute of the last round.
Statistically, the bout was a stalemate. According to CompuBox, both men landed 171 punches. But if power punches are a tiebreaker, Khataev has the edge – he connected with 129 power shots, while Morrell landed 97. And then there was that knockdown, something Benavidez didn’t even achieve against Morrell.
I didn’t score the bout round-by-round, but thought Khataev, who sparred with light-heavyweight contender Albert Ramirez in the leadup to this bout, turned in the superior performance. As for the official cards – if I accept that judges might view the fight differently I can see scoring that bout a draw, but even that’s at the outer reaches of what’s reasonable. Saturday’s result might not have been an outright robbery, but it wasn’t a good decision.
The solution? It’s simple.
Ignore the scorecards, and we have a high-stakes, high-octane bout between world-class performers. I’d watch that rematch, and so would you.
Factor the scorecards back in, and we have sublots. Khataev’s out for justice after a dodgy loss. Morrell’s eager to prove he can handle business without a gift from the judges. Both fighters are willing to go all-out, for all 10 rounds.
It’s a recipe for a main event, and I’m sold already.
Give them a raise, and run it back.
