{"id":329367,"date":"2025-12-22T07:02:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T07:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/329367\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T07:02:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T07:02:07","slug":"mcgirt-says-smith-has-the-blueprint-to-beat-david-morrell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/329367\/","title":{"rendered":"McGirt Says Smith Has The Blueprint To Beat David Morrell"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThey don\u2019t know if it\u2019s going to be the end of January or on Valentine\u2019s Day,\u201d said coach James \u2018Buddy\u2019 McGirt to MillCity Boxing<\/a> about when the Callum Smith vs. David Morrell fight will happen. \u201cWe\u2019re preparing now like it\u2019s the end of January. Callum is in the right frame of mind. He\u2019s going to beat Morrell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morrell Is Younger That Matters<\/p>\n

Being in the right frame of mind doesn\u2019t mean anything. Smith is going to have to go to war with the younger 27-year-old Morrell. He\u2019s not going to win just because of positive thinking.<\/p>\n

Smith turns 36 in the first quarter of 2026. So, he must win this fight because he\u2019s running out of time. If he gets knocked out by Morrell, it\u2019s going to be hard for him to rebuild in time before he ages out. Of course, with Eddie Hearn\u2019s backing, it\u2019s possible that Callum could absorb a loss and come back.<\/p>\n

\u201cMorrell has a hell of an amateur background [130-5]. He\u2019s Cuban. I seen him fight once in LA [against Radivoje Kalajdzic]. We know what we got to do, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re in camp now,\u201d said McGirt.<\/p>\n

The Benavidez Fight Says a Lot<\/p>\n

The blueprint on how to defeat Morrell was already created by David Benavidez. Throwing a lot of shots and keeping him shelled up is the way. However, it\u2019s not foolproof. Imam Khataev attempted to use that strategy against Morrell last July, and he came up empty in a 10-round split decision loss.<\/p>\n

Morrell kept hurting him with shots. He would have knocked Khataev out if he continued to throw each time he had him in trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cCallum,\u201d said McGirt when asked \u2018Who\u2019s the puncher?\u2019 I\u2019m not saying he can\u2019t punch, but Callum punches harder,\u201d said McGirt.<\/p>\n

Smith Takes Too Many Shots<\/p>\n

Smith is going to have to worry about not taking so many shots in this fight because Morrell can punch. In Callum\u2019s seventh-round knockout loss to Artur Beterbiev in January 2024, he folded under the power and the pressure. The jab and the short combination punching from Beterbiev wore Smith down.<\/p>\n

This Might Not Last Long<\/p>\n

Callum does have good power, but he may not stick around long enough for it to be a factor against Morrell. If he gets hit as much as he did in his fights against Beterbiev and Joshua Buatsi, this bout could be over by the sixth or seventh rounds. Morrell has better power than McGirt thinks.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, McGirt says he still hasn\u2019t watched Morrell\u2019s fight against David Benavidez from last March. You\u2019d think that out of all the fights he would want to watch, it would be that one because the 6\u20192\u2033 Benavidez is close to the same height as the 6\u20193\u2033 Smith.<\/p>\n

Benavidez defeated Morrell by using volume punching to earn a 12-round decision. On the downside, \u2018The Mexican Monster\u2019 Benavidez\u2019s face was badly marked up from Morrell\u2019s punches. Looking at the two after the fight, one would assume that Morrell won because his face was unmarked compared to Benavidez\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Robert Segal has been a key voice at Boxing News 24 for more than a decade, delivering fight news, previews, and analysis with a direct, insider edge. His work highlights champions, contenders, and rising talent from around the world, offering readers a clear understanding of where each fighter stands in the sport\u2019s shifting landscape. Known for his sharp ringside perspective and straightforward reporting style, Robert consistently brings fans closer to the action with knowledgeable, no-nonsense coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThey don\u2019t know if it\u2019s going to be the end of January or on Valentine\u2019s Day,\u201d said coach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-329367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}