David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) cruised to an unpopular 12-round unanimous choice over WBA ‘common’ gentle heavyweight champion David Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) on the T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Morrell dropped a tired-looking Benavidez onerous within the eleventh spherical with a phenomenal verify proper hook after beating the daylights out of him. Moments later, the referee penalized Morrell for hitting after the bell in a really, very odd-looking transfer.
The scores have been 115-111, 115-111 and 118-108.
Benavidez was allowed to combat along with his trunks pulled as much as his ribcage, Fury-esque model, which regarded blatant. It was shocking the referee didn’t instruct him to regulate them.
Outcomes:
Former WBC/WBO tremendous bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs) outboxed WBC featherweight champion Brandon Figueroa (25-2-1, 19 KOs) to win a 12-round unanimous choice of their rematch within the co-feature bout.
Not like their first combat 4 years in the past in 2021, this one wasn’t shut. Fulton has improved his sport, outboxing and out-punching a sluggish-looking Figueroa. The judges’ scores have been 116-112, 116-112, 117-111.
Given how boring this combat was, PBC ought to have positioned it close to the underside of the cardboard the place it wouldn’t get as a lot consideration as a result of this was onerous to observe. Followers had paid $79.95 for tonight’s occasion, and having a combat like Fulton-Figueroa was not good if the promoters needed to maintain encouraging individuals to buy their occasions.
Mild welterweight Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (27-3-1, 18 KOs) fought properly tonight, out-punching Angel Fierro (23-3-2, 18 KOs) to win a 10-round unanimous choice.
Cruz was on the assault your entire combat, touchdown onerous energy pictures to the top and physique of Fierro. The Mexican puncher, Fierro, answered again properly with pictures however didn’t have the identical pop on his punches. The judges’ scores have been 96-94, 97-93, and 98-92.
Junior middleweight Jesus Ramos Jr. (22-1-1, 18 KOs) had his manner with former unified 154-lb champion Jeison Rosario (24-5-, 18 KOs) tonight, dropping him within the seventh spherical and battering him with punches within the eighth spherical to get the knockout.
The referee stopped it as a result of Rosario, 29, was getting labored over by Ramos Jr. It wasn’t an entertaining combat, as Rosario regarded gunshy, afraid to throw for concern of being countered by Ramos.
Featherweight Mirco Cuello (15-0, 12 KOs) defeated Christian Olivo (25-2-1, 9 KOs) by a tenth-round knockout in a combat he was shedding. It was a wild comeback from the Argentinian Cuello, as he was behind on the judges’ scorecards going into spherical ten. He dropped Olivo twice with left hooks to the physique.
The referee waved it off after the second knockdown. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:01 of spherical ten. Olivo had knocked Cuello down within the second spherical with a proper hand to the top, and he managed the motion till the championship rounds.
A mistake on Olivo’s half was to deal with physique pictures on the expense of touchdown upstairs, as he’d finished early on along with his left hooks and proper fingers to the top of Cuello.
Cuello regarded fairly crushed up on the finish of the combat. His face was marked up and swollen from the heavy hooks that OIivo had landed.
Middleweight prospect Yoenli Hernandez 7-0, 7 KOs) dominated a troublesome however restricted Angel Ruiz Astorga (18-4-1, 13 KOs), knocking him out within the fifth spherical with energy punches. The referee, Al Huggins, pulled the plug on the combat as Ruiz was absorbing an excessive amount of punishment from Hernandez alongside the ropes. The time was at 1:06.
Light-weight prospect Curmel Moton (7-0, 6 KOs) ate a ton of brutal energy punches from Frank Zaldivar (5-2, 3 KOs) however got here on to attain a third-round TKO. Moton, 18, flurried on the Cuban Zaldivar with a storm of pictures after backing him up in opposition to the ropes within the third. Referee Harvey Dock then halted the combat. The official time of the stoppage occurred at 1:51 of spherical three.
Moton goes to must make a number of enhancements in his sport for him to at some point seize a world title. What’s worrisome moreover Moton’s tiny 5’3″ and lack of protection is his weight. Except he will get taller, he’ll be too small to combat at 140 or 147. For the casuals that although Moton would be the subsequent Gervonta Davis, it’s apparent now that he’s not that kind of expertise.
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The combat build-up has angered Benavidez as a result of he’s not accustomed to going through an precise menace, and the Cuban Morrell poses an actual one.
‘The Monster’ Benavidez has not been a cheerful camper across the former Cuban beginner star, bristling at his Hollywood film star appears to be like and self-assurance.
Benavidez doesn’t appear to love that Morrell has taken the eye away from him that he feels he deserves after 12 years of proving himself in opposition to a handful of previous ex-champions.
B247 will present reside outcomes under for tonight’s motion bow.
Fights Tonight
David Benavidez vs. David MorrellBrandon Figueroa vs. Stephen Fulton Jr. 2: Co-featureIsaac Cruz vs. Angel FierroJesus Ramos Jr. vs. Jeison RosarioMirco Cuello vs. Christian OlivoYoenli Hernandez vs. Angel Ruiz AstorgaCurmel Moton vs. Frank ZaldivarKaipo Gallegos vs. Leonardo PadillaDaniel Blancas vs. Juan BarajasJohn Easter vs. Jesus AguilarJose Benavidez Jr. vs. Danny RosenbergerGabriela Tellez vs. Abril Anguiano
WBA ‘common’ gentle heavyweight champion David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) defends his belt in opposition to WBC interim champ David Benavidez within the 12-round on the T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas tonight – The primary portion of tonight’s occasion begins at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on PBC Prime Video PPV for $79.95. Prelims begin at 5:30 p.m. PT/2:30 PT on PBC’s YouTube channel at no cost.
