David Morrell secured world title in his second weight class on August 3, when he faced Radivoje Kalajdzic at BMO Stadium in LA. The pair battled it out on the card headlined by Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov.
The unbeaten Cuban defeated his opponent of Serbia by unanimous decision. After 12 rounds, the scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111.
With the victory, David Morrell improved to 11-0, 9 KOs and collected the vacant WBA “Regular” light heavyweight belt. Earlier in his career, the 26-year-old southpaw held the WBA “Regular” strap at super middleweight.
“This guy’s a strong guy, a good fighter,” Morrell said. When asked whether he was surprised that Kalajdzic was able to handle his power, Morrell replied, “No, it’s seven more lbs [compared to fights at 168 lbs]. Everyone in this division is stronger. I feel happy.”
“I want [David] Benavidez. Everybody knows it’s him and I want to show everyone I’m the best at 175,” Morrell said. “Everyone says he’s the bogeyman, but I’m here.”
33-year-old Radivoje Kalajdzic dropped to 29-3, 21 KOs, which snapped his five-fight winning streak. The Saint Petersburg, Florida-based contender didn’t succeed in his second attempt to become champion, previously falling short via fifth-round KO against Artur Beterbiev for the division’s IBF belt in May 2019.