By Mark Eisner: David Morrell will defend his WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight title tonight against his tough-as-nails unbeaten mandatory challenger Aidos Yerbossynuly in a fight that should be a thrill to watch from start to finish.
The talented Cuban Morrell (7-0, 6 KOs), who arguably is the best fighter in the 168-lb division, will face his toughest test as a pro against the powerful Kazakh Yerbossynuly (16-0, 11 KOs) in their 9:00 p.m ET / 6:00 PM. PT card, live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing from The Armory in Minneapolis.
Boxing News 24 will give live updates & results of the Morrell vs. Yerbossynuly card below tonight.
Undercard:
Jeison Rosario 160 vs. Brian Mendoza
Fiodor Czerkaszyn 158.75 vs. Nathaniel Gallimore
Andre Dirrell 174 vs. Yunieski Gonzalez 174
Julian “J-Rock” Williams 159.6 vs. Rolando Mansilla 158
Kent Cruz 143.6 vs. Enriko Gogokhia 141.4
With a victory tonight, Morrell could face David Benavidez in 2023, provided he wins his next fight against Caleb Plant.
“I was asked, ‘Where do you want to go? Minneapolis, California, or Las Vegas?’ And I asked, ‘Where do people speak more English?’ So, I said, ‘I’ll go to Minneapolis because I wanted to learn English,’” said David Morrell to SHOWTIME Boxing about why he moved from Cuba to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“And he said, ‘It’s really cold there,’ and I said, ‘No problem. I’ve been to Russia, so it’s not important.’ When I got there, I had to run at 5:00 A.M. I said, ‘No way, this can’t be,’ but the truth is, I ended up loving it.
“I love Minneapolis, the people, the place, everything. It’s cold and all, it’s not easy, but yeah, I like it a lot. To be honest, I’ve never seen so many Cubans, and at my fights, I’ve seen a lot, and I’m not talking about the people in my camp.
“I’m talking about the public, the people I’ve seen with the Cuban flag. And I’ve been like, ‘Wow!’ It left an impact and impressed me because it’s something that had never happened to me.
“First and foremost, I’d like to thank my team for their support, which made this possible. Each time, we’re trying to bring back boxing to Minneapolis. And how you’ve seen each time we’re going to fight or do something.
“Everyone is attentive and brought tickets. Everyone is always waiting, and how we’ve done it. Hopefully, each time it gets bigger. There are things that we are nurturing and constructing, and right now, we’re not at 100, but we’re on the way.
“First of all, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that a Latino would come to a place like Minneapolis, a place where I didn’t expect to get so much care that I got. Not only the armory, not only at the fights.
“I go out to the streets; I go out to eat or to the mall, and people recognize me, and they say to me, ‘Hello, how are you?’ And that’s something I never expected. It’s almost like they took to me so much and accepted me as another citizen of Minneapolis.
“The best part of living here is being able to create a home, to create a second home in Minneapolis,” said Morrell.
