WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight titleholder David Morrell Jr 10-0 (9) walked through Sena Agbeko 28-3 (22) stopping him in two rounds at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday night.
In the headline fight on the final card on Showtime Championship Boxing after the network announced it was walking away from the sport after 37 years earlier this year, Ghana’s Agbeko, 31, barely had time to make an impression as talented Cuban southpaw Morrell, 25, set him up and knocked him out.
Morrell caught Agbeko in the neutral corner with a big left cross midway through the second round that buckled the challenger’s legs. The titleholder let his hands go and seemingly couldn’t miss, forcing referee Mark Nelson to step in and stop the carnage at the 1:43 mark.
“Thank you to my fans for coming to the fight,” said Morrell, who boxed in front of a reported crowd of 5,347. “Teaching everyone who is the number one. I’m ready. I tell everybody my team, my family… I’m looking forward to next year. For now, I feel happy. Right now, I’m going to go my house for Christmas and focus on next year.
“Everybody came for my fight, I’m so excited. The first time my dad and my mom came to watch me fight, so I’m really excited to have them here… it’s my night. It’s my time. It’s my year and I’m looking forward to a good 2024.
“In 2024, I want to fight [David] Benavidez. One hundred percent.”
A highlight reel knockout lit up the undercard when southpaw Jose Valenzuela 13-2 (9) gain his revenge on Chris ‘Primetime’ Colbert 17-2 (6) in their WBA lightweight title eliminator.
The bout was a rematch of their March tussle that Colbert was by unanimous decision by scores of 95-94 across the board.
This time around, the 24-year-old Valenzuela left no doubt. He beat up Colbert, 27, for five rounds before lowering the boom in the sixth, knocking him out cold with a sweeping right hook.
“I got to tip my hat off to him because he brought out the best in me,” Valenzuela said. “He made me adjust… Throw my combinations, but go back to work.
“I wasn’t concerned, I knew I was conditioned to go 12 rounds, so I just was being patient. I didn’t want to rush it and punch myself out.
“I was just teeing off on him. I was throwing combinations to the body and to the head, mixing it up. You know, he was tough, he was holding up. The second time he turned left he saw I was gonna make a jab so he could catch it up front, but I dipped a little bit and shot the right hook.”
Colbert wants a rematch, but Valenzuela doesn’t see it happening.
“I don’t think the fans want to see it, I beat him twice,” Valenzuela said.
