With Dmitry Bivol as the WBA (Super) champion, the Regular title will find a new owner this weekend as David Morrell faces Radivoje Kalajdzic in Los Angeles. Here is our Morrell vs Kalajdzic prediction.
Morrell vs Kalajdzic Prediction: Youth vs Experience
The existence of this belt continues to raise questions as the WBA claims to be working on removing it. Such has been the case since 2021 and yet, we have a new fight for the vacant WBA Regular championship. This means that the winner of this bout will be considered a secondary champion and will have to defeat Dmitry Bivol to claim the ‘Super' belt.
This doesn't take away anything from the fact that this will be an incredible fight that could easily be the highlight of a smaller boxing event. Let's look at the challengers.
David Morrell Preview
David Morrell enjoyed his time as the WBA champion at super middleweight and decided to step up to light heavyweight for this challenge. The 26-year-old Cuban boxer is undefeated with 10 wins with 9 knockouts.
He went on to win the interim title as early as his third bout and was later upgraded to Regular champion. While he made six defenses after that, none of his opponents are worth mentioning in a serious analysis. At least, none of them had faced a champion before, so it is hard to say that he has considerable experience at this point.
Nevertheless, he is a knockout specialist and stands out with his outstanding footwork and versatile skillset. Moreover, he enters this contest as an unbelievable betting favorite. But before we can give our Morrell vs Kalajdzic prediction, we have to take a closer look at his far more experienced opponent.
Radivoje Kalajdzic Preview
Radivoje Kalajdzic has been around for a while. He made his professional debut in 2011 and has amassed an incredible record of 29-2-0. More importantly, he also has 21 knockouts behind him. He is 33 years old and has fought three times more than his young rival.
While the number of fights is important and there is zero doubt that he has more experience, the names of the opponents are what truly matters. And Kalajdzic has faced some of the best in recent years.
For example, he fought Artur Beterbiev for the IBF light heavyweight title in 2019. He was knocked out in the 5th round but that comes as no surprise given that Beterbiev has 20 KOs in 20 fights. When it comes to his wins, his most recent TKO over Sullivan Barrera stands out as his biggest achievement.
Our David Morrell vs Radivoje Kalajdzic Prediction: A Knockout Within 6 Rounds
On paper, Radivoje Kalajdzic doesn't stand out as an exceptional boxer by any metric. And while the experience is on his side, it is hard to see how he would outperform the faster and more powerful Morrell, who is also 7 years younger than him.
The Cuban isn't even at his peak yet but his performances have proven that he is ready for the biggest challenges. He is a more complete fighter and we have to side with him for our final Morrell vs Kalajdzic prediction.
We even expect a quick fight here, with potentially less than six rounds. Betting on the moneyline is pointless, so opt for the under or the knockout markets. Some bookmakers even offer combined markets, so make sure to go through all the available options.
