A prospective light heavyweight fight between battle-tested Brit, Callum Smith, and Cuban boxer David Morrell on April 18 has been cancelled.
The bout would have pitted the 6-foot-3 Smith, a former super middleweight champion with wins over George Groves at 168 pounds and Joshua Buatsi at light heavyweight, against Morrell, who is looking to extend his comeback to two wins on the spin following a maiden defeat to David Benavidez, in 2025.
According to a statement from Smith’s promoter, Matchroom, the fight for a week Saturday has been canceled because of injury.
“An injury has forced Callum Smith out of his clash with David Morrell at the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool,” the England-based promotional powerhouse said.
“It is a massive blow to lose a mega fight so close to the event and we wish Callum a speedy recovery,” Matchroom boss Hearn said in a statement sent to Boxing Social.
The show, though, will go on in Smith and Morrell’s absence with the co-main event elevated to headline status. “It remains an unmissable night of boxing,” Hearn added, “headlined by arguably one of the greatest showmen in the sport today in Ben Whittaker. He is box office in whatever city in the world he is fighting in.”
In the new main event, polarizing 175-pounder Whittaker takes on Braian Suarez.
Whittaker is a rising 11-fight contender Matchroom recently added to its roster, and is perhaps well-placed to, in the future, plug the hole Conor Benn left when the British slugger left Eddie Hearn’s outfit for Zuffa Boxing, instead. In Suarez, Whittaker competes against an experienced boxer who has shrared the ring with Lyndon Arthur and takes a second-round knockout win into the Liverpool ring April 18.
“Of course, the carrot of his eventual big US debut is dangling. And Ben will be out to show once again why he will be the future of this sport as the eventual ruler of the 175 pound division.
“It will be a solid test for him against Braian Suarez, who is a dangerous, heavy-hitting opponent with 20 stoppages on his resumé.”
Other fights on the card include Peter McGrail and Ckari Cani Mansilla’s super bantamweight bout, Joe McGrail vs Aaron Hayden for a regional title, also at super bantamweight, and hometown favorite Molly McCann — a former UFC fighter — against Ashleigh Johnson, again at super bantamweight.
Though the canceled fight is a blow to the card, Matchroom remains an active events organizer in April, with Allotey vs Erastus on April 10, Miller vs Pero on April 25, and Nicolson vs Turner on April 29.
