David Morrell stopped Alantez Fox in round four to retain the WBA Super Middleweight Title at The Armory in Minneapolis, MN.
In round four, Morrell dropped Morrell with a hard straight left. Morrell jumped on Fox and landed a series of hard blows until Fox’s father/trainer stopped the fight at 2:06.
Morrell, 167 lbs of Minneapolis, MN is 6-0 with five knockouts. Fox, 167.4 lbs of Forestville, MD is 28-3-1.
“I love fighting here in Minnesota,” said Morrell. “This is a great opportunity to fight in front of my fans here. It really motivates me.”
“I was just listening to my team and following their instructions,” said Morrell. “We were just working in there, just like we do in the gym. They told me to let my hands go, so I did. Fox didn’t have the power to keep me off of him. So I knew that I had to take advantage of it. I felt comfortable in there and that made it easy for me.”
“I thought I won the first round, and in the second round I knew he was going to come out aggressively,” said Fox. “So I was trying to move and make it tough for him. We were holding each other on the inside and he came in with a good shot that dazed me. I was upset about the fight being stopped, but I know that my team has my best interests at heart.”
“I respect everybody in the super middleweight division, but I want to fight all of them,” said Morrell. “I’ve got this belt right now and I’m open to fighting any of them. They just have to step up.”
Puello Decisions Owens
Alberto Puello remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over VeShawn Owens in a junior welterweight bout.
In round two, Owens was cut over his right eye from an accidental elbow.
Puello landed 171 of 44 punches; Owens was 78 of 478.
Puello cruised and won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92.
Puello, 142.4 lbs of The Dominican Republic is now 20-0. Owens, 143 lbs of Minneapolis, MN is 13-3.
“The strategy was always just to stay smart,” said Puello. “I knew that I just had to keep moving and execute my plan. As the fight went on, I could see that he wanted to fight toe-to-toe, so I adjusted and stood up to him.”
“I could never get in my rhythm,” said Owens. “I don’t know what it was, but I couldn’t get my timing down. I got him good a few times, but I couldn’t capitalize. He was sharper than I expected, but he wasn’t too fast or too powerful. I just couldn’t get my timing going. He was the sharper fighter and he knew what he was doing. He was game and I take my hat off to him. It was all me. No excuses, he was the better man.”
“I’m ready for all the top 140 pounders,” said Puello. “I’m just going to take it fight by fight, but they all know now that I’m ready for any of them.”
Jose Valenzuela remained undefeated with a 4th round stoppage over Austin Dulay in a lightweihhy bout.
Valenzuela dropped Dulay three times in round one and once in round two. The bout was stopped in the 4th frame.
Valenzuela, 134.6 lbs of Los Mochis, MEX is 11-0 with seven knockouts. Dulay, 134.8 lbs of Nashville, TN is 14-3.
“The game plan was to use my jab, touch him to the body and then finish him up top,” said Valenzuela. “I just stayed patient, took the shots he gave me and landed a good one. I was surprised he fell right away, but he showed a lot of heart.”
“I was surprised by the stoppage,” said Dulay. “I was starting to pick it back up and tag him with some shots. I rocked him with an overhand left at the end of the last round. Then they didn’t even give me an opportunity to fight.”
“I wasn’t surprised by the stoppage,” said Valenzuela. “I was going to stop him eventually and seriously hurt him. It was only a matter of time. I showed everyone that I’m a solid fighter and that I’m here to stay. I believe I’m the future of this game.”
Richardson Hitchins won a 10-round unanimous decision over Malik Hawkins in a super lightweight bout.
Hitchins, 143.4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 97-93, 100-90 and 96-94 and is now 13-0. Hawkins, 143.2 lbs of Baltimore, MD is 18-2.
Hector Luis Garcia won an eight-round unanimous decision over Isaac Avelar in a super featherweight contest.
In round one, Avelar dropped Garcia with a right hook. Avelar was never close to replicating that again as Garcia won all the following rounds.
Avelar, 129.4 lbs of Dominican republic won all cards 78-73 and is now 14-0. Avelar, 129.4 lbs of Mexico is 16-4.
Chino Hill and Suray Mahmutovic fought to a four-round draw in a light heavyweight bout.
In round three, Hill dropped Mahamutovic with a right hand.
