Losing wasn’t an option for David Morrell until he didn’t have much of a choice.

Just a few short weeks ago, the incredibly talented Cuban was forced to put his money where his mouth is. But, after years of trash-talking David Benavidez, Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) quickly found out that the man he deemed amateurish and robotic, was a lot better than he realized.

During their February 1st pay-per-view main event, plenty of eyeballs watched closely to see how things would play out, including Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Having lost to Benavidez last year, the former WBC light heavyweight champion knows that Benavidez is a handful.

Gvozdyk though, won’t kill Morrell for his efforts. Instead, he recently gave the 27-year-old his flowers.

“Morrell is a great fighter,” admitted Gvozdyk to The Ring during a recent interview. “But Benavidez is a notch better.”

The Ring’s No. 2 ranked light heavyweight is now sitting back and waiting for the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol. While he’s playing the waiting game, guys like Morrell and Gvozdyk have to figure things out. Morrell still has time to put the pieces back together but Gvozdyk has to act quickly.

At the age of 37, life in the real world is essentially just starting. In terms of boxing years, however, that’s normally the time when fighters decide to walk away.

Retirement is a road that Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) traveled already. Revisiting it is a possibility but not before he makes another run. Several of the top names in the division have obligations but Morrell, due to his setback, is kind of available once he heals from his wounds.

Gvozdyk won’t grab the microphone and bombastically call out the former two-division champion. He’s merely hoping that they’ll be able to meet in the ring sometime soon.

“He’s a great fighter, he can bounce back. If he’s available, I would love to fight him.”