According to reports, David Morrell is visiting trainer Abel Sanchez at his gym in Huge Bear, California to see if the two are a good combination to replace the Cuban fighter’s coach.

Assessing Abel Sanchez’s coaching fit

Boxing expert Carlos Linares reports that Morrell is looking for a successor to his coach, Ronnie Shieldswith whom he has been working since 2023, in Houston, Texas. For Morrell and Sanchez to work together, he must follow and follow the instructions he receives from his corner. There’s no point in Morrell switching coaches to Abel if he’s not going to follow his orders.

Former two-division world champion Morrell (12-1, 9 KO) is trying to regain the form he had in his career before his last three disappointing performances against Imam Khataev, David Benavidez and Radivoje Kalajdzic.

In each of these fights, Morrell seemed to lose focus, fighting only in compact bursts and struggling. Morrell has shown mental concentration issues in these fights that need to be fixed if he wants to succeed at lightweight heavyweight.

Khataev Bout exposed key weaknesses

In 27-year-old Morrell’s last fight with Khataev (10-1, 9 KO) on July 12, 2025, he was knocked down in the fifth round and won what many boxing fans considered a controversial 10-round split decision.

For most of the fight, Morrell shot behind the high guard and leaned against the ropes, allowing Khataev to rush him. In moments like these, he fought more like a sparring partner.

In rounds nine and ten, Morrell seemingly hurt Khataev, but inexplicably withdrew and camouflaged himself rather than fight for the finish with the tired Russian fighter. It looked strange. In Morrell’s corner, his trainer, Shields, could be seen giving him strict instructions. However, Morrell continued to follow the same pattern as in the previous rounds, fighting sporadically and hiding too often.

Aftermath of the Battle of Benavidez

Earlier this year, Morrell lost his “regular” WBA lightweight heavyweight title to David Benavidez via 12-round unanimous decision on February 1, 2025. Much like Morrell’s fight with Khataev, he hid for long periods of time, allowing “Mexican Monster” Benavidez to bombard him with compact punches, overwhelming him with arrows. The scores were 118-108, 115-111 and 115-111.

When Morrell let go of his hands, Benavidez was injured in round 4 and dropped him in round 11. Again, Morrell was inconsistent in his attack and spent too much time hiding. As a result, Benavidez won a surprisingly straightforward decision over the stronger Morrell. In retrospect, it was a fight that Morrell could have potentially won if he had combined Benavidez’s non-stop striking style with his extraordinary strength.

A strategic argument for returning to 168 pounds

One move Morrell could potentially make if he teams up with trainer Abel Sanchez is to move back down to 168. That’s a better weight class for the Cuban given his fast-fighting approach. His strength is greater at super middleweight than at 175. If Morrell doesn’t change his style, he won’t do well at lightweight heavyweight because excelling at that weight requires a more consistent attacking effort.

Analyst Verdict: Can Sanchez Re-ignite Morrell’s Fire?

Working with Abel Sanchez would be the right coach for David Morrell, who could refocus and fight with more consistent aggression than he has shown in his last three contests. Abel is less forgiving of fighters who are withdrawn, do not follow instructions, and do not exert maximum effort. If Morrell doesn’t follow Sanchez’s instructions, it will be a problem.

Sanchez expects his players to apply pressure and maintain the advantage over their opponents. Former fighters Abel trained at his high-altitude Huge Bear gym in California:

• Gennady “GGG” Golovkin
• Terry Norris
• Murat Gasijew
• Lupe Aquino
• Orlin Norris
• Miguel Angel Gonzalez

If Cuban Morrell is willing to listen to Sanchez and follow his stringent discipline, he can regain what he has recently lost in his last three appearances. However, if Morrell continues to lose focus and do whatever he wants in rounds, working with Sanchez in Huge Bear will not save his career. At age 27, it’s not too overdue for Morrell to turn his career around and achieve the success he had at 168, but it will require change.