Cuban champion David Morrell has retained his ‘world’ title, the WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight title, after defeating Ghanaian contender Sena Agbeko by technical knockout in just the 2nd round. The two fighters headlined Showtime’s last boxing broadcast at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on December 16th.
The match between the two super middleweights, originally set for twelve rounds, did not last for more than two as David Morrell (10-0, 9 KO’s) stopped Sena Agbeko (28-3, 22 KO’s) to the point that the referee had to intervene.
The first round was uneventful for the most part and went in Morrell’s favor according to the post-match judges’ scorecards. Morrell threw more effective and powerful punches in the round, edging out Agbeko who did not lack punches of his own but failed to establish himself, especially with his jabs which he seemed to miss.
The second round again saw Morrell dominating for the most part, forcing Agbeko on the defensive earlier, who attempted to fight off the back foot but was not successful in this regard. Close to the 2nd minute mark of the round, Morrell’s rate of punches seemed to increase as he detected vulnerabilities in Agbeko, and Morrell forced his opponent into the ropes after catching Agbeko with a thumping right uppercut.
From that point, Agbeko was forced into the ropes and struggled to defend against Morrell’s onslaught. As it is extremely difficult to block punches when pushed into the ropes, and Agbeko was incapable of employing defensive maneuvers to avoid Morrell’s punches, Morrell’s powerful combinations eventually forced the referee to intervene, resulting in a technical knockout win for Morrell.
Morrell, defending his WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight title, retained his belt as a result and recorded another stoppage/knockout victory on his record. Morrell’s win over Agbeko does not clarify whether he will actually get a title opportunity.
Though regarded as the WBA ‘regular’ champion, the ‘super’ champion of the division, Canelo Alvarez (60-1-1, 39 KO’s), has yet to be ordered to face him, indicating the ‘regular’ title’s lack of worth to the WBA as a whole. David Morrell will likely continue to remain in a limbo of sorts in regards to world title opportunities against Alvarez, who still holds all four sanctioning bodies’ world titles.
Sena Agbeko’s loss will impact his career, as early stoppage/knockout losses do not bode well for a boxer’s reputation. However, the Ghanaian super middleweight has already announced his intention to move down to middleweight and seek to make his mark upon the division below.
The event also showcased a rematch between Americans Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KO’s) and Chris Colbert (17-2, 6 KO’s) at lightweight. Their last match ended in a controversial split-decision victory for Colbert. The rematch, however, was a far cry from the first bout as Valenzuela showed improvements in regards to cutting off the ring to almost knock Colbert out of the ring in the 6th round of their twelve-round match. Valenzuela won the match by KO as a result, heralding himself as an eye-catching new top contender in a lightweight division that is rife with elite talent.
There was an additional rematch on the undercard, one between former world champions Robert Guerrero (38-6-1, 9 KO’s) and Andre Berto (32-6, 24 KO’s), both 40 years old and from the USA, and staged approximately eleven years after their first match in 2012. Showing shades of the first match, Guerrero again stormed to an easy unanimous decision win where Berto proved to be unable to overcome Guerrero’s pinpoint boxing.
Dominican former world champion Alberto Puello (22-0, 10 KO’s), the former WBA super lightweight champion, also made his appearance after an absence related to a positive drug test earlier this year. Puello won his eight-round match at 140 lbs by unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten American contender Ector Madera (11-1, 6 KO’s) who suffered his first career loss as a result.
