By: Sean Crose
Boxing returned to the The Armory in Minneapolis on Saturday thanks to a PBC card that aired live on Fox. The opening bout was a scheduled 10 round super lightweight affair between the 13-2 VeShawn Owens and the 19-0 Alberto Puello. The first saw Puello maintaining range. Owens received an accidental cut in the second, but managed to fight gamely in the third. The fourth and fifth had Puello landing well while Owens moved forward bravely. By the sixth it was clear Puello was simply the better of the two fighters.
The seventh, eighth and ninth saw Puello seeming to continue to dominate. The tenth saw Owens going for broke. Puello was game, too, though, unwilling to let his chance to shine on national television slip by. Needless to say, it was Puello who walked out of the ring with a well deserved UD win.
Next up, the 10-0 Jose Valenzuela battled the 14-2 Austin Dulay in a scheduled ten round lightweight battle. Valenzuela went right to work in the first. Meanwhile, Puello landed well himself and flicked out an impressive jab. Still, it was Valenzuela’s strong punching and aggressiveness that told the tale, so much so that Dulay hit the mat. The the man’s credit, however, he got to his feel and fought gamely…only to go down again. He got up, but was sent down yet a third time, though the man didn’t look particularly hurt.
Both men blasted away in the second, though Valencia’s ability to land exceedingly well a la a prime Thomas Hearns put Dulay down again, though once again the man got to his feet and fought on. Indeed, Dulay had a stronger third. It was of no consequence. The ring doctor took a look at Dulay at the start of the fourth, and the fight was stopped.
It was time for the main event. The 5-0 David Morrell Jr took on the 28-2-1 Alantez Fox in a scheduled 10 round super middleweight affair. Fox tried to hit and run to some effect in the first. Still, Morrell was able to catch his man at the end of the round and unload. The second saw Morrell fight aggressively and land well, though Fox had his moments of keeping his opponent at bay. Still, it looked at times like Fox was trying to hold on for dear life.
Morrell continued to land clean on his man in the third, catching Fox hard on the ropes in the final minute of the round. In the fourth, Fox looked like he was simply trying to survive. He slipped on the canvas once, and seemed to awkwardly bounce about. He never launched an effective attack or defensive strategy. The fight was wisely stopped before the round’s end.