Investment in a tremendously rich fight card is underway in Saudi Arabia again with the revelations that a tilt between top light heavyweight contenders David Morrell Jnr and Callum Smith and a 140lbs title fight between return champion Subriel Matias and Dalton Smith seem bound for a loaded November 22 card in Riyadh.
“Morrell’s strength of confidence in his amateur experience is such that [he] wants the biggest, baddest athletes around,” Algieri said. “I tip my hat to him. It’s a new age. Having to have an ‘0’ is no longer a thing. He’s lost. Big deal. We’ll still see him in big fights.”
Cuba’s Morrell, 12-1 (9 KOs), has fought unbeaten WBC titleholder David Benavidez and Russia’s Imam Khataev in his past two fights, getting off the canvas versus Khataev to win by split decision.
In former super middleweight belt holder Callum Smith, 31-2 (22 KOs), Morrell will confront a 35-year-old coming off an impressive triumph in Saudi Arabia in February over Joshua Buatsi.
“He’s literally going for all the big dogs,” Algieri said, as Phoenix’s Benavidez is due to anchor the November 22 card in a bout versus Anthony Yarde.
Malignaggi said Smith’s wear and age make him unsure if “Callum can beat Morrell. … Morrell is the fresher of the two.”
Malignaggi explained that Morrell’s wealth of amateur experience schooled him in handling a steady string of difficult bouts before he turned pro, keeping him in bold position as he presses to become a world titlist.
“It’s why he can compete at this level [at age 27] and it’s why he can move faster,” Malignaggi said. “He’s not a bona fide world champion yet, like Smith.”
With trainer Buddy McGirt by his side, Smith produced an impassioned effort in defeating Buatsi. He has been in prior talks to fight Benavidez, and winning in November would leave Smith ideally poised for a 2026 shot at the Benavidez-Yarde winner and then at the winner of the 175lbs trilogy title match between champion Dmitry Bivol and former champion Artur Beterbiev.
“He’s had a nice resurgence at 175,” Algieri said in reference to Smith’s 168lbs title loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Matias, 23-2 (22 KOs), has also redeemed himself after losing his IBF 140lbs belt to Liam Paro in a June 2024 setback in his native Puerto Rico before collecting the WBC belt by defeating Alberto Puello by majority decision on July 12.
In the ring, Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh informed Matias that he would next be fighting England’s Dalton Smith, 18-0 (13 KOs), and Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced the bout will happen.
Algieri said he wished Matias would have granted an immediate rematch to Puello considering the 114-114, 115-113, 115-113 scores.
“I don’t like the fact Puello’s being sidetracked,” Algieri said.
But Malignaggi noted Puello did the same to Sandor Martin after their narrow title fight.
“Dalton Smith is a guy who’s getting readied for the big time by Matchroom, and this is going to be that match,” Malignaggi said.
While Smith might not be at the world-class level, solving the come-forward Matias is not like dealing with a Rubik’s Cube.
“We’ll see if Dalton Smith is the goods,” Algieri said.
The November 22 card is also due to feature a welterweight title defense by WBO belt holder Brian Norman Jnr versus two-division champion Devin Haney, a junior bantamweight unification between Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Fernando Martinez, and a bout for the vacant WBO lightweight belt between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
