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Morrell Edges Past Khataev In A Controversial Split Decision

Contributor ·13 July 2025

David Morrell overcame Imam Khataev in a controversial split decision, 95-94 Khataev, 96-93 Morrell, 95-94 Morrell, as you can follow what happened.

Morrell was looking to bounce back after suffering his first career loss against David Benavidez Jr. The defeat was a major setback since it was for the interim WBC belt, as Benavidez later became the full champion once Dmitry Bivol vacated. Prior to that, Morrell had an impressive 11-fight win streak, picking up the WBA (Regular) titles at both middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super middleweight and heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight. Khataev was undefeated with a 10-0 record. 9 of his wins came by knockout. He defeated Durval Elias Palacio in his last fight via a unanimous decision. It was the first time he had failed to stop an opponent, as he faced a fellow knockout artist. Here is how the fight played out.