David Morrell Jr. defends WBA title with decisive TKO at Armory
David Morrell Jr. smiles shortly after his 2nd round TKO over Sena Agbeko at the Minneapolis Armory (Photo courtesy: SHOWTIME)
Former Minneapolis-based boxer and adopted hometown favorite David Morrell Jr kept his perfect professional record intact, defending his WBA Super Middleweight title with a TKO win over Sena Agbeko Friday night at the Minneapolis Armory.
Morrell closed in on Agbeko halfway through the second round and unleashed a barrage of punches that prompted the bout’s referee to correctly step in and stop the fight at the 1:44 mark of the round.
The win raises Morrell’s 10-0 record – nine by knockout, and eighth knockout in a row – and puts him in better position for a matchup against one of the giants in his weight class.
He’s been seeking a fight with David Benavidez for a couple years. Caleb Plant and Canelo Alvarez are also fixtures at the top of the Super Middleweight rankings.
After a dominant amateur career in Cuba, Morrell defected to Mexico, immigrated to the United States and began training in Minneapolis and was one of the first major draws after the downtown Armory’s rebirth.
He recently moved to train at the renowned Ronnie Shields Gym in Houston, Texas.
Saturday’s fight was the first time Morrell’s parents had seen him fight in-person since he left Cuba in 2018. His parents recently immigrated to the United States and were ringside at the Armory for his win
The card Morrell headlined was the last boxing broadcast on the SHOWTIME network, which is shutting down its boxing programming after nearly forty years.