David Morrell Jr. wants to fight David Benavidez or Canelo Alvarez next.
The unbeaten Cuban southpaw will settle, however, for the former super middleweight champion who has lost only to Alvarez and Benavidez. Facing Caleb Plant would at least present Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) with an opportunity to prove himself against a top-five fighter within the 168-pound division, as opposed to blowing out overmatched underdogs twice a year.
“I love Caleb Plant,” Morrell told BoxingScene.com. “He’s a great boxer. I respect him. If it’s next with him, OK, let’s go. You know, I’m ready. I’m not scared of anybody. I’m ready.”
Plant prefers to fight rival Jermall Charlo next in what would be a more promotable grudge match. Plant slapped Charlo in the face during an infamous incident that went viral July 28, the day they got into an altercation after the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Based on recent history, Morrell, who stopped Sena Agbeko in the second round Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis, seemingly would be a more dangerous opponent for Plant than Charlo.
Houston’s Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs) would need to move up to the super middleweight limit to oppose Plant. Charlo ended a 29-month layoff by beating Jose Benavidez Jr. (28-3-1, 19 KOs) unanimously on points in their 10-rounder November 25 in Las Vegas, where Charlo came in 3½ pounds overweight for a fight that was signed at a contracted catch weight of 163 pounds.
Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) hasn’t fought in 8½ months, not since Benavidez beat him by unanimous decision in their own 12-round grudge match. The 31-year-old Plant’s only previous loss came by 11th-round knockout against Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs), the Mexican icon who became boxing’s first fully unified super middleweight champion of the four-belt era when he stopped Plant in November 2021 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Plant, a native of Ashland City, Tennessee, headlined Showtime Pay-Per-View events versus Alvarez and Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs).
“He’s a good boxer and he’s a big name, too,” Morrell said. “He’s a very good fighter. If me and him fight, it’s nice. He moves, has defense, power. He’s a good boxer. … If tomorrow or next year they offer me Plant, I don’t have a problem with that.”
Morrell overwhelmed Agbeko after hurting him in the second round, unloaded a barrage of power punches and forced referee Mark Nelson to step between them to halt their scheduled 12-round fight for Morrell’s WBA secondary super middleweight title. The Ghanaian-born, Nashville-based Agbeko (28-3, 22 KOs) lost by knockout for the second time in 12 years as a pro.
The 25-year-old Morrell has needed less than three total rounds to win his last two bouts. He knocked out Brazilian southpaw Yamaguchi Falcao (24-2-1, 10 KOs) in the first round April 22 on the Showtime Pay-Per-View portion of the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia undercard at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Falcao was a late replacement for Agbeko, who was denied a license by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to a saccular brain aneurysm detected during an MRI. Agbeko was later cleared by two neurologists and his fight with Morrell was rescheduled for Saturday night.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.