Thursday, July 8, 2021
There was a press conference today at the Armory in Minneapolis, featuring World Boxing Association title holders Jamal James and David Morrell, Jr., announcing the Armory’s next Prime Boxing Champions promotion on Saturday, August. 7. James, (27-1,12 KOs) is tentatively scheduled to defend his WBA welterweight title on the undercard of the fight between super champion Manny Pacquiao and WBC/IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence, Jr. Morrell, (5-0, 4 KOs), is fresh off of his June 27 1st round knockout of Mario Caserez in defense of his WBA super middleweight title.
While Armory publicist, Robb Leer announced the August 7 card featuring a super welterweight battle between Gabriel Maestres and Cody Crowley, James discussed his upcoming fight and Morrell discussed his latest victory, his progress since turning professional, and his future.
Fielding questions from the press, James addressed his excitement at the possible fight in August, the adjustments made while training and fighting during pandemic shutdown, the exspanion of the Circle of Discipline boxing gym and training alongside Morrell at their team training camp facility in Barnum, MN.
It was a significant adjustment to train under shutdown, James explained, but not overly inconvenient, except that “there was no rotating of sparring partners” because it was too difficult to bring in new boxers as the weeks went by. “It’s easier in the camp {in Barnum],” he explained, because those involved with training were isolated together. “Also, you get two [Covid] tests a week,” he said. Now that things are more open, James is excited to continue his pursuit of welterweight dominance and also being showcased on August 21.
Asked if a win in August could propel him to a higher level, possibly fighting someone like Keith Thurman or maybe Terrrence Carwford of Omaha, Nebraska, James declared, “I’m already there; I want the Pacquiaos, the Spences, the Thurmans, the Crawfords. I don’t duck nobody.”
Morrell, addressing how fast he ended his June 27 bout with Casarez, explained that it was not expected to end quite that fast but the overall result was. His training alongside and together with James, along with the enthusiastic support of his Minnesota fans, kept him focused and fortified his motivation. Grateful also for the support of his girlfriend, who served as interpreter during the press conference, Morrell explained that he was offered opportunities upon traveling to the U.S., to box out of a number of different states, but he knew Minnesota would be the best choice. He has developed a true solidarity with James, the two stablemates inspiring and sharpening each other as they continuously develop their skills.
James, who would love to be propelled into a future fight with any of the earlier mentioned stars of the welterweight division, addressed a Boxers and Writers Magazine question of the difficulty of maintaining the world class level of performance once his training and fighting has brought him to that level.
A lot of boxers end up losing their edge after winning a title, he explained, but for him, “All my fights are world title fights.” He has always brought that attitude to every fight, he explained, since his first fight, realizing that the work gets harder when the title gets won. “You really can’t get too comfortable,” he said, “until you retire.”
