Imam Khataev’s promoter obviously had his rooting interest, but he wasn’t alone in thinking the light heavyweight contender didn’t deserve his first professional loss to David Morrell on the undercard of Saturday’s pay-per-view headlined by Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Edgar Berlanga.
But two of the three judges saw otherwise, awarding Morrell the split decision victory with scores of 96-93 and 95-94. The lone tally for Khataev, who knocked Morrell down in the fifth round and buzzed him in others, was 95-94. Khataev, a 30-year-old from Russia and living in Australia, is now 10-1 (9 KOs).
“One thing’s for sure: David Morrell got his Christmas gift early, because that was a terrible decision – not just for Imam Khataev, but for the integrity of the sport,” said Camille Estephan, president of the Canada-based Eye of the Tiger, in a press release. “Maybe we should invite Morrell to our turf, at the Centre Videotron, for a rematch.”
The Centre Videotron is in Quebec City, Quebec, and has hosted Khataev once before for his January 2024 victory over the 17-12-1 Michal Ludwiczak on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev-Callum Smith. Khataev has also fought in Montreal three times, most recently last September for a seventh-round TKO of the 31-12 Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna.
Morrell, who was returning from suffering his own first pro defeat to David Benavidez in February, is now 12-1 (9 KOs).
Also on the Sheeraz-Berlanga show, Alberto Puello lost his WBC junior welterweight world title via majority decision to Subriel Matias. Turki Alalshikh, who bankrolled the event, reportedly promised Puello a shot at the winner of Matias’ upcoming fight with mandatory contender Dalton Smith, which could take place on the November 22 show headlined by Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde.
There have not been any similar reports about Alalshikh’s desires for Khataev and Morrell, but Morrell said in a post-fight interview that he is open to running it back.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
