WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight titleholder David Morrell Jr 6-0 (5) needed just four rounds to stop Alantez Fox 28-3-1 (13) at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old Cuban southpaw who boxes out of Minneapolis dropped Fox in round four with a left to the chin. The 29-year-old Fox, who resides in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, beat the count but his corner threw in the towel during the follow-up barrage of shots.
The time of the stoppage was 2:06.
According to CompuBox, Morrell landed 46% (52/114) of his power punches. Fox threw 56 power punches, only landing 8 of them (14%).
“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.”
Fox wasn’t happy about the stoppage, but respected his corner’s decision to halt the fight.
“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.”
Morrell was a standout amateur, winning gold medals at the 2016 Youth World Championships and the 2017 Cuban National Championships. He reportedly compiled a record of 130-2 in the unpaid ranks.
Morrell insists he is ready for anyone in the division, where the ruler is Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 57-1-2 (39) who holds all four major titles at 168-pounds.
“I respect everybody in the super middleweight division, but I want to fight all of them,” Morrell said.
“I’ve got this belt right now and I’m open to fighting any of them. They just have to step up.”
