It is the story of not one, but two Davids. The 168–175-pound divisions seem to be experiencing an unusual shift in circumstances. Seemingly tired after years of calling out Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez decided to move on. He is now already done with a light heavyweight bout. It’s over to Osvary David Morrell Gutierrez Jr., or simply David Morrell. The Cuban-born boxer will make his 175-pound division debut on Saturday night. He squares off against Radivoje Kalajdzic for the vacant WBA title at the Terence Crawford–Israil Madrimov headline event.

Like his namesake, Morrell has been one of the longtime chasers of the Canelo Alvarez fight. It seems their fates are also intertwined. Neither has managed to get the much-sought-after fight thus far. In his case, David Morrell seemingly sent feelers to David Benavidez as well. But to no avail. Now that the news of Alvarez settling for title defense against Edgar Berlanga makes Morrell’s WBA mandatory, the Santa Clara-born southpaw finds it a ridiculous proposition.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga and the David Morrell Thumbs Down

The fight week schedule witnessed the ‘Grand Arrivals’, the first of the pre-event shows on Tuesday. Speaking with a group of reporters, David Morrell, it appears he got sick and tired of the perpetual questionnaire on Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga’s September 14 feature. “Man, this fight’s bulls**t. Everybody knows. I don’t want any more questions about this fight. It’s crazy,” he said.

The Cuban-American boxer understands that, in the end, it’s all business. But, according to him, the fact remains that Canelo Alvarez avoided fighting two Cubans, one him and the other perhaps compatriot Uwel Hernandez, at the 168-pound division. Additionally, Alvarez not looking into David Benavidez’s call-out has become well-known.

Suggesting how Canelo Alvarez has been going after less challenging opponents, David Morrell felt, “Berlanga is easy for him.” Referring to last year’s Jermall Charlo fight, where the ‘Iron man’ moved two divisions up to meet Alvarez at the super middleweight, he said, “Everybody’s here. I’m not talking s**t. Everything’s here. For me, this fight’s bulls**t.”

Some of the reporters asked him to rate the kind of threat Berlanga might pose to Alvarez on a scale of one to ten. Then, when asked how much of a threat he might pose in a fight with David Benavidez, Morrell responded with a smiling 16! But jokes apart, he rated ‘The Mexican Monster’ as a great fighter.

The (light heavyweight) heat is on

Despite his relatively young 5-year-old career, David Morrell has emerged as one of the most formable fighters in the super middleweight division, which has been under Canelo Alvarez’s shadow for some time now. The southpaw became an interim champion by the time he celebrated his first work anniversary. The following year saw him elevated to regular champion. ever since he has been defending it with his last, his sixth defense against Sena Agbeko, taking place in December last year.

A win over Kalajdzic might position him at a vantage point. David Benavidez has also won his light heavyweight fight. Reportedly, there doesn’t seem to be any plan for him to return to 168 pounds. Hence, he could be the mandatory challenger for the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol clash. So a triumph might give David Morrell a chance to call out ‘The Mexican Monster’ for a title eliminator. What if he ends up winning that epic clash?

Do you agree with David Morrell’s views on the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga square-off?