David Morrell fully expects his WBO interim title fight with Callum Smith to be rescheduled after Smith pulled out of their planned meeting in Liverpool last month with an undisclosed injury. Morrell said he will fight Smith again, and he expects that rematch to happen later this year.
The Cuban southpaw is not spending the interim on the shelf. He fights Zak Chelli this Saturday at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, on a card that now places Morrell vs. Chelli as the chief support to Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois after Jared Anderson vs. Solomon Dacres was removed from that slot.
The interruption arrived after Smith, who last fought in February 2025 when he unanimously outpointed Joshua Buatsi to claim his own interim light-heavyweight title, withdrew from the Liverpool date. Morrell said Luis DeCubas Jr handled the situation in a way that kept him active, rather than waiting around for a bout that fell apart. That matters in a division where long pauses can cost momentum, and Morrell was blunt that he did not want to lose a year to one cancellation.
Morrell also said he had little reaction when Smith’s injury surfaced because he believes fighting requires professional mental preparation. He said he stayed calm and kept training, treating the setback as part of the job rather than a reason to unravel. The wording was plain enough: a boxer, in his view, has to be ready for whatever comes.
His last outing showed why that mindset matters. Morrell edged Imam Khataev by split decision last July despite being knocked down in the fifth round, a fight he later said was not a good performance because he was not fully focused. He said several things had happened in his personal circle and that, against Khataev, he relied too much on instinct instead of boxing, movement and control.
That bout also marked a turning point in his camp. Morrell said he parted ways with Ronnie Shields after the Khataev fight and joined head coach Ismael Salas, where he now trains alongside Rolando Romero, Alberto Puello and Yoelvis Gomez. He said Salas has brought back some of the Cuban schooling he had lost after moving to the United States and training in Houston, Texas, and that everyone in the gym now speaks the same language and is on the same page.
For Morrell, the Smith delay is a detour, not a derailment. The rescheduled title fight remains the bigger prize, but first he has Chelli in Manchester, and for now that is the test in front of him.
