By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated regular WBA Super Middleweight Champion David Morrell of Cuba will be battling it out with Yamguchi Falcao of Brazil this Saturday, April 22nd. The 12-rounder from Las Vegas is on the undercard of the Ryan Garcia vs Gervonta Davis fight and can be seen live in America on Showtime PPV and it will also be broadcast in many nations on DAZN. Morrell last fought in November when he stopped Aidos Yerbossynuly in the 12th round while Falcao last saw action in December when he stopped Ernest Amuzu in the seventh round.
The 25-year-old southpaw Morrell is well known for his amateur exploits as he reportedly compiled a 130 -2 record and captured gold medals at the 2016 Youth World Championships, the 2017 Cuban National Championships and the India Open International Boxing Tournament in 2018 in the light heavyweight division. Morrell made his pro debut in August, 2019 when he stopped Yendris Rodriguez Valdez in just 65 seconds and has boxed just 39 rounds since.
He stopped Quinton Rankin in the second round three months later before beating Lennox Allen by unanimous decision for the interim title. He’s defended it by stopping Mike Gavronski in the third round and Mario Cazares in the first round before before halting Alantez Fox and Kalvin Henderson in four and Yerbossynuly in 12. Morrell now stands at a perfect 8-0 with 7 Ko’s.
It’s obvious that he has excellent power in his punches as he boasts a current knockout ratio of 87.5 per cent. Morrell also has good size as he stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a reach of 78.5 inches. Like most Cuban national champions, Morrell is a polished boxer with plenty of skills and could potentially land some big-money fights in the future as he’s hoping to land a bout with David Benavidez or Canelo Alvarez.
As for Falcao, he’s 35 years old and also a southpaw, who enters the contest with a fine mark of 24-1-1 with 10 Ko’s and has 172 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2014. Before that he enjoyed a fine amateur career as he fought in the World Series of Boxing, won bronze at the 2010 South American Games, silver at the 2011 Pan American Games and bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London, England with those last two medals coming as a light-heavyweight.
Falcao measures 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73-inch wingspan, so he’s the same height as Morrell but gives up 5.5-inches in reach. As far as power goes, Yamaguchi doesn’t really have heavy hands as his current knockout ratio stands at just 37.1 per cent and has stopped just two of his last seven opponents. As a pro he’s won the WBC Latino Middleweight Title, the vacant Brazilian Cruiserweight Belt, the vacant WBC, American boxing Federation Inter-Continental, and NABF Super Middleweight Crowns as well as the vacant WBA Fedecaribe Super Middleweight Title.
His lone draw was a 10-round affair with D’Mitrius Ballard in December, 2019 while his only defeat came at the hands of Christopher Pearson by 10-round unanimous decision in May, 2019. His biggest wins have been over Francisco Cordero, German Perez, Morgan Fitch, Richard Gutierrez, Elias Espadas, Jorge Miranda and Alex Theran.
Prediction…
Falcao has won numerous regional titles as a pro but hasn’t faced a legitimate contender as a pro, so he’s taking a big step up in class this weekend. He needs to get inside due to his 5.5-reach disadvantage but doesn’t have the power to keep the aggressive Morell off of him. Falcao has fine boxing skills though, but they won’t be enough and he’s also 10 years older than the champ. I’m expecting Morrell to remain unbeaten and retain his title as he’s a power puncher with a fan-friendly style and enters this fight with a big edge in reach.
