A legitimate super middleweight contender arrived Saturday night.
David Morrell, the former Cuban amateur star with only two pro fights under his belt, outclassed Lennox Allen to win a one-sided unanimous decision on the Jamal James-Thomas Dulomore card at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
The scores were 118-110, 119-109 and 120-108, all in favor of the 22-year-old from Santa Clara, Cuba. Boxing Junkie had it 118-110.
Morrell, reportedly 135-2 as an amateur, looked like a seasoned pro as he outboxed, outworked and ultimately overwhelmed the more experienced Allen.
Allen (22-1-1, 14 KOs) wasn’t an easy target, particularly early in the fight. However, more than enough of Morrell’s shots got through Allen’s defense to score points and win rounds. And in the later rounds Morrell (3-0, 2 KOs) landed almost at will.
Meanwhile, Allen just wasn’t active enough to give himself a chance to win the fight. The best you can say about him is that he was never hurt, which also might raise questions about Morrell’s punching power.
Overall, Morrell turned in a superb performance against a solid pro to win an interim title. And the fact he did it in only his third pro fight was particularly impressive.
Was a star born? It’s too early to tell. But Morrell certainly got off to a sizzling hot start.