Super Middleweight WBA ‘Regular’ champion, Cuban fighter David Morrell, will be facing a new opponent after his Ghanaian opponent Sena Agbeko was refused a license by the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s refusal which prevented Agbeko from fighting in the state of Nevada and thus prompted his withdrawal from the fight. A new opponent was quickly found in Yamaguchi Falcao who still presents a threat to Morrell’s reign as the WBA ‘Regular’ champion, despite filling in on short notice. The two are set to clash in the co-main event of the fight card that will be headlined by Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on April 22nd.
While reports have surfaced of the Nevada State Athletic Commissions refusing to grant Sena Agbeko (27-2, 21 KO’s) a license due to medical concerns, the Ghanaian fighter has cleared two separate medical tests to prove otherwise. With NSAC not officially confirming why Agbeko was refused a license (though many outlets including ours have reached out to them), there is some genuine concern as to what is going on, with corruption perhaps being at the forefront of this issue.
Sena Agbeko himself claims no wrongdoing or faults and he has already reached out to his social media outlets to call out the State Athletic Commission for refusal to grant him a license.
“This is the report from the neurosurgeon who cleared me for the fight but the Nevada State Athletic Commission is being used to shield Morrell from what they feared was coming. HIPPA laws were violated in this whole situation and we will seek all legal means to have justice served.” Sena Agbeko vowed through his Twitter account.
As a result of NSAC’s decision to not grant Sena Agbeko a license, he will be out on the sidelines but the Ghanaian challenger has refused to take this odd piece of news without a fight and will be legally pursuing a case against the involved parties that kept him from fighting David Morrell.
In the meantime, David Morrell (8-0, 7 KO’s) will be focusing on stand-in opponent Yamaguchi Falcao (24-1-1, 10 KO’s) who is currently regarded as the best Brazilian Super Middleweight on the planet, according to BoxRec . The Brazilian contender also ranks as the #6 contender on both the WBA’s and WBC’s ranking boards, and his decision to fight David Morrell on short notice shows his willingness to get in there with tough fighters, despite not having had the necessary preparation.
Though Falcao will not be as thoroughly prepared as Sena Agbeko had been, the Brazilian will still be a tough challenge for David Morrell, though the Cuban champion is still expected to win easily according to the latest betting odds which tip Morrell to win even more convincingly than when he was matched with Agbeko.
David Morell will enjoy a number of advantages that warrants his status as the likely winner. The Cuban is currently 25-years old, 10 years younger than Falcao who is currently 35, and therefore enjoys a significant advantage of youth that will likely translate to his physical capabilities. Though Yamaguchi Falcao’s one loss came by decision, he has shown some susceptibility after suffering a knockdown in 2018.
If time is still on the Brazilian’s side however, he will be a significant threat with his hand speed and overall resilience which has seen him face power punchers before. Falcao is however quite tentative when it comes to unleashing combinations, and even if Morrell fails to continue his stoppage/knockout streak, he can still easily outwork Falcao.
The battle between the two Super Middleweights is set to commence on April 22nd as the co-main event of the highly-anticipated bout between undefeated Lightweights Gervonta Davis (28-0, 26 KO’s) and Ryan Garcia (23-0,19 KO’s) that will determine the new face of American boxing, and perhaps the wider globe.
