Turki Alalshikh revealed that there won’t be a rematch between David Morrell and Imam Khataev. Last Saturday, Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs) defeated Khataev (10-1, 9 KOs) by a 10-round split decision in the fight of the night in a battle between light heavyweight contenders at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.
Turki Alalshikh: Future Fight Plans
Turki says Khataev will have an opportunity to fight on one of his cards in the future. He plans on bringing Morrell back in December at 175, but didn’t reveal who his opponent will be.
A lot of fans thought Khataev deserved the win in that fight, as he’d gotten the better of Morrell in the early rounds. In the fifth, Khataev dropped Morrell with a right hand. Up until then, the Cuban Morrell was dominating the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Khataev. However, he got careless when backing away with his hands down.
Morrell Dropped, Fought Back Strong
Khataev saw the opening and quickly charged forward to land a right to the jaw of Morrell to put him down. The round ended before Khataev could attempt to put Morrell away. After that round, Morrell buckled down and fought with more passion, jabbing and landing hard combinations that had Khataev hurt several times.
“Not a rematch. Khataev will have a chance with us in the future, and Morrell also,” said Turki Alalshikh to Thaboxingvoice when asked if there will be a rematch between David Morrell and Imam Khataev.
There will be a lot of fans who will be interested in seeing Khataev fight next. He showed that he’s capable of defeating many fighters in the light heavyweight division with his power. What he lacks is stamina, and he doesn’t like getting hit to the body. Whenever Morrell hit Khataev to the body, he showed a visible reaction.
In some cases, he would look to the referee for help when the shots would hit him around the sides toward the back area. He was doing the same thing to Morrell, but he wasn’t complaining.
Morrell’s December 175 lbs Return
“Morrell, we will see him again in December. “I like him and I like his style. I think he will stay at 175. There are a lot of fighters at 175. We can see him again,” said Turki.
It would be interesting to see Morrell fight contenders like Joshua Buatsi, Callum Smith, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, or two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Arlen Lopez.