BoxRec

Press Release

Cuban sensation and unbeaten WBA Super Middleweight Champion David Morrell Jr. will defend his title in his adopted hometown when he faces 168-pound contender Alantez Fox on Saturday, December 18 in the FOX PBC Fight Night main event and on FOX Deportes live from The Armory in Minneapolis.

The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and features exciting rising unbeaten prospect Jose Valenzuela taking on lightweight contender Austin Dulay in the 10-round co-main event.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Warriors Boxing, go on sale Tuesday, November 16 and can be purchased through The Armory at http://ArmoryMN.com/ and through Ticketmaster.

“David Morrell Jr. is quickly becoming a fan-favorite at The Armory in his new hometown of Minneapolis, and he’ll look to continue his rise up the super middleweight division taking on the always tough Alantez Fox on December 18,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “The Armory was rocking for David in June and he delivered a memorable first-round knockout for everyone watching. I expect another incredible atmosphere for this whole card, which also features the exciting lightweight prospect Jose Valenzuela in his toughest test yet against Austin Dulay. This is a night you won’t want to miss live on FOX or in Minneapolis.”

Now based in and training out of Minneapolis, Morrell (5-0, 4 KOs) has shown off the prodigious talents that made him a standout in Cuba’s iconic amateur scene since arriving stateside in 2019. Before being recently elevated, the 23-year-old captured an interim title by dominating then unbeaten Lennox Allen in action on FOX in August 2020. Most recently, Morell thrilled a packed Armory on June 27, electrifying the crowd with a first round knockout over previously unbeaten Mario Cazares. On December 18, Morrell returns to headline on FOX for the third time in less than a year, with back-to-back main event appearances taking place at The Armory.

“I’m thankful to my whole team for this opportunity to once again perform in front of my fans at The Armory in Minneapolis,” said Morrell. “We had a great night there in June and we’ve been building on that all training camp. I can’t wait to feel the energy of the fans again and continue to show why I’m a force in the super middleweight division.”

The 29-year-old Fox (28-2-1, 13 KOs) was unbeaten in his first 23 fights, moving his way up the middleweight division until dropping a 2017 bout by decision to unbeaten champion Demetrius Andrade. Fighting out of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, he rebounded with three-straight victories before losing in the U.K. to Liam Williams in December 2019. Fox officially debuted at super middleweight in December 2020 by earning a unanimous decision over Marcos Hernandez, before most recently stopping Manny Woods in June at The Armory in Minneapolis.

"I'm excited to be fighting for my first world title -- it's ‘SlyAza’ Fox on FOX!" said Fox. "This is an early Christmas gift. Get your shopping done, get home and be ready for a show. I always stay ready and I'm going to make sure to take full advantage of this opportunity. I've been waiting my whole life for this shot and I'm going to bring the title back home with me."

Born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, Valenzuela (10-0, 6 KOs) now trains as a stablemate of unbeaten two-time world champion David Benavidez. The 22-year-old turned pro in 2018 and rode a five-bout knockout streak into his most recent fight, which saw him earn his first 10-round decision in a victory over Deiner Berrio. Valenzuela will look to close out his breakout 2021 campaign with a fifth triumph this year on December 18.

“I’m thankful to be on this big stage and in a position to show off my talents for the world on FOX,” said Valenzuela. “I’m getting better and better and more and more dangerous as I continue to grow and learn. Dulay is another tough opponent, but I’m going to be prepared for anything he tries to do in the ring. I’m working hard every day and I’m hungry to prove myself again on December 18.”

Dulay (14-2, 10 KOs) enters this fight the winner of three out of his last four bouts, as he seeks a career-best victory over Valenzuela on December 18. The 26-year-old most recently defeated Jose Gallegos by unanimous decision in November 2020, putting him back in the win column after a decision loss against former title challenger Diego Magdaleno. Fighting out of his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, Dulay’s only other pro loss came against unbeaten top super featherweight Chris Colbert.

“I’m feeling really strong coming off my leg injury and my movement and explosiveness is back and better than ever," said Dulay. "I expect this to be an exciting and highly entertaining fight, as we have some style similarities. I know Valenzuela is going to be a game opponent and he comes from a strong stable, but I’m looking to use this fight to restart my career. He’s going to have to deal with the best version of Austin Dulay on December 18.”

Fight Week!

Press Release | Richardson Hitchins vs. Malik Hawkins on The Morrell-Fox Card

Rising super lightweight contenders Richardson Hitchins and Malik Hawkins will square off in a 10-round showdown that headlines FS1 PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes Saturday, December 18 from The Armory in Minneapolis.

The FS1 telecast begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and also features unbeaten Dominican Olympian Hector Luis Garcia dueling Mexico’s Isaac Avelar in an eight-round super featherweight bout and undefeated light heavyweight prospect Suray Mahmutovic taking on fellow unbeaten Pachino Hill.

Following the action on FS1, FOX PBC Fight Night will be headlined by Cuban sensation and unbeaten WBA Super Middleweight Champion David Morrell Jr. defending his title in his adopted hometown when he faces 168-pound contender Alantez Fox. The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and features exciting rising unbeaten prospect José Valenzuela taking on lightweight contender Austin Dulay in the 10-round co-main event, plus unbeaten super lightweight contender Alberto Puello dueling Minneapolis-native VeShawn Owens in a 10-round attraction.

Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased through The Armory at http://ArmoryMN.com/ and through Ticketmaster.

A native of Brooklyn, Hitchins (12-0, 5 KOs) turned pro in 2017 after representing Haiti at the 2016 Olympics and signed on with Mayweather Promotions. The 24-year-old has flashed impressive skills as he’s amassed an unbeaten record in the pro ranks, which is the product of his extensive amateur career. In his last outing, Hitchins scored a career-best victory, as he earned a decision over former world champion Argenis Mendez. Hitchins has increased his competition in winning 10-round decisions in his last three fights.

Another rising prospect in the Mayweather Promotions stable, Hawkins (18-1, 11 KOs) fights out of Baltimore, Maryland and is trained by Gervonta Davis’ coach Calvin Ford. The 25-year-old most recently dropped an October 2020 contest against hard-hitting contender Subriel Matias. Hawkins owns a victory over then unbeaten Darwin Price via fifth-round TKO, which he picked up during a five-win 2019 campaign that also saw him knockout tough contender All Rivera in the first round.

A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, García (13-0, 10 KOs) represented his home country at the 2016 Olympic Games. The 30-year-old owns a decision victory over previously unbeaten Anvar Yunusovin 2019, and most recently stopped Miguel Moreno in four rounds in July. He will take on the 24-year-old Avelar (16-3, 10 KOs), who has fought professionally since 2015. The Aguascalientes, Mexico-native has gone toe-to-toe with unified champion Stephen Fulton Jr. and top contender Eduardo Ramirez.

Mahmutovic (3-0, 3 KOs) began his pro career with three-straight knockout victories before he makes his U.S. debut as a pro on December 18. The 23-year-old was born in San Francisco and now resides in Daly City, California. Mahmutovic picked up all of his knockout victories in 2021, scoring wins in April, May and July. He squares off against Davenport, Iowa’s Hill (6-0, 5 KOs) in a battle of unbeatens. The 24-year-old Hill debuted in February 2020, with three-straight stoppage victories, having most recently defeated Brandt Cooper in August.

The non-televised undercard lineup will see super middleweight contender Anthony Sims Jr. (21-1, 19 KOs) in a six-round bout against Manny Woods (17-14-1, 6 KOs) and lightweight prospect Breeon Carothers (1-0, 1 KO) facing Deljerro Revello (0-2) in a four-round fight. Rounding out the action is unbeaten Mayweather Promotions fighter Adrian Benton in a six-round lightweight duel versus Raymond Chacon.

Who is fighting who now?

caldo2025 wrote: ↑14 Dec 2021, 10:08 Who is fighting who now?

Main Card

David Morrell Jr vs. Alantez Fox

Jose Valenzuela vs. Austin Dulay

Alberto Puello vs. Ve Shawn Owens

Prelims on FS1

Richardson Hitchins vs. Malik Hawkins

Hector Luis Garcia vs. Isaac Avelar

Suray Mahmutovic vs. Pachino Hill

Non-televised undercard

Anthony Sims Jr vs. Manny Woods

Breeon Carothers vs. Deljerro Revello

Adrian Benton vs. Raymond Chacon

Alantez Fox tells Ring how he’s viewing Dec. 18 battle versus David Morrell

It’s not that it’s been an easy journey to get here, days away from being featured in the main event of a PBC card, against a younger gun athlete currently holding a title belt at 168 pounds. More like, it’s been the type of trek experienced by countless world-class pugilists who did well to reach a certain level. Alantez Fox (28-2-1 record, with 13 KOs) experienced a setback in the attempt to get over the hump, tweaked his game and set about to get back to a place where a win signifies a certain standing in the game. A victory against super middleweight titlist David Morrell on a card put together by TGB (Tom Brown) would represent a career best victory for the older and taller member of the Fighting Fox family.

In recent years, we’ve heard more from little brother Mykal (22-3 record), who like Tez is trained by father Troy. They all rep the District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) fistic region, and it was Mykal, who is 26 and toils at 147, who got a surge of ink when he battled Gabriel Maestre in a PBC main event on August 7. (That fight engendered more than a bit of controversy.)

Alantez Fox (who is listed at 6-4, to Mykals’ 6-3 1/2), meanwhile, got a taste of an uptick in interest when he fought Liam Williams in December 2019, with a more minor title up for grabs. (Neither man is in Ring’s top ten for 168s.) The Brit Williams prevailed, via stoppage, so it was left to Alantez to proceed forward so he could revisit the territory.

Fights got booked against Habib Ahmed and Marcos Hernandez in 2020, he got the Ws, and so Alantez strides to the Premier Boxing Champions ring Saturday night having last gloved up in June. Alantez Fox in early summer scored a stoppage win over Manny Woods, way down on a Minnesota card featuring Morrell doing a WBA crown defense against Mario Abel Cazares. (See Alantez vs Hernandez action below)

Alantez told RING that he’s confident about his chances at the Armory in Minneapolis, but not cocky, as we tick down to fight night. I put it to him, how has he found the sledding the last couple years, and where does he see himself and his career, big picture?

“These years have provided more strength, wisdom and great experience,” Alantez Fox told RING. “Every fight was a lesson. Win or loss. I think I’m better than I’ve ever been. Stronger than I’ve ever been. Just time to put the tools to good use. Big thanks to Al Haymon my advisor Mike Borao and my team here at home. Currently, I’m hungry in every sense of the word. This has been my life’s ambition and Saturday I’m looking to showing how much work we’ve put in through this camp and over the years. It’s our time. I’m excited to capture this title.”

And we wonder, how likely is that to happen? Many folks aren’t too clued in to who Morrell is, even though he holds a “world” title. The fighter grew up in Cuba, had a 130-2 amateur mark, and decided to get into the pro game in 2019. In his third fight, he vied for a vacant WBA title. His class is evident from right when you see him in action. His composure is like that of other Cubans with lots of experience tucked under their belt, he doesn’t get close to ruffled in his last outing when foe Mario Cazares tries to bully him, and catch him with a flurry. The lefty will stand tall, but change levels not by bending at the torso, but mostly by bending at the knees. His mobility is excellent, he has those sweet feet so many Cubans do.

Alantez Fox may see Morrell drop his hands, but will know that’s not an invitation to throw a bomb, but rather that he shouldn’t fall for the lure. Father/trainer Troy Fox will remind Alantez not to get sucked in, and also tell the ref to be on the lookout for trickery, like holding behind the head, and hitting. And whereas Hernandez, in Alantez’ last scrap, had trouble closing the distance and solving the long Fox jab, Morrell has quicker feet and a better command of real estate, so he will get in tight on Alantez, and so defense, blocking especially, will have to be on point for the DMV rep.

And why not, I asked Mykal to fill me in with a lil scouting report on Morrell: “Morrell is very offensive,” Mykal shared. “He’ll put the earmuffs on for defense but he’d rather be attacking. I think Tez is the best fighter he’s been in with and the experience and skills should show. We will also have to see how David deals with opposition that is taller. I expect him to lunge in and for Tez to counter.”

OK, and how is big bro’s body and brain heading into the clash? “He’s excited, motivated, and he’s been working hard,” Mykal continued. “He’s spent the last eight weeks preparing exclusively for the southpaw David.”

Wait, so does Alantez Fox think him versus Morrell is pretty much a 50-50 fight, on paper? “I mean, sure it is,” Alantez said. “Anyone can win on any day. I just don’t think my hunger and ambition will allow me to lose.”

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑16 Dec 2021, 09:02 The fighter grew up in Cuba, had a 130-2 amateur mark

fake https://boxrec.com/en/amateurboxer/852450

Mykal Fox: Morrell Is Making A Lot Of Noise, But Alantez Fox Is The Best Fighter He's Been In With

It would’ve been tough to blame anyone within the fighting Fox family for not wanting to set foot in the state of Minnesota again, let alone in the same Armory boxing ring where Mykal Fox was the victim of one of the most reprehensible scoring scandals in this sport’s recent history.

Mykal Fox forgives those that wronged him the night of August 7, though. The way Mykal, his older brother, Alantez, and their father/trainer, Troy, approached Alantez’s fight against David Morrell Jr. on Saturday night is that they were willing to go wherever was necessary for Alantez’s potentially career-changing opportunity.

As usual, Mykal will work his brother’s corner during the main event of a “FOX PBC Fight Night” broadcast from Minneapolis. Mykal has kept the focus since they arrived in town Wednesday, however, on Alantez’s fight, not his infamous loss to Gabriel Maestre four months ago.

“As far as coming back out here, my perspective has been just this is Tez’s fight, his opportunity,” Mykal Fox told BS.com. “We’ll just have to hope that the sport does right by him. I still look back on my own situation like something good came of it, you know, a lot more notoriety, my followers on social media went up, I did about a hundred interviews between August and September.

“So, my name’s out there. I try to look at the positive side of it for me. But I’m not trying to bring any negative energy, any skepticism to Alantez Fox’s opportunity. This is his opportunity. He has to make the most of it.”

Mykal Fox’s positive approach aside, there are obvious parallels between Mykal’s dubious defeat to Maestre and Alantez’s shot at Morrell. The Cuban-born Morrell clearly is better than Venezuela’s Maestre, yet they both were fast-tracked to WBA secondary title bouts before either fighter had four professional fights in the 168-pound and 147-pound divisions, respectively.

The 23-year-old Morrell is a strong southpaw who knocked out previously undefeated Mario Cazares (12-1, 5 KOs) in the first round of his last bout. Morrell (5-0, 4 KOs) has been promoted as a future star, but Mykal Fox feels he is prone to be upset by Alantez Fox (28-2-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) in the featured fight of a three-bout broadcast scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT.

“I think [Alantez’s] chances are very good,” Mykal said. “I mean, David Morrell, he’s making a lot of noise and everything, but there’s no amount of money that can buy experience. I think Alantez Fox is the best fighter he’s gonna have been in with. And at the pro level, he’s gonna find out that the pro game is a different monster.”

Mykal taught Maestre that lesson fairly obviously in their 12-round fight for the then-vacant WBA interim welterweight title. He picked apart his inexperienced opponent and should’ve been rewarded for seemingly winning at least nine rounds.

Judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo ridiculously scored Maestre a 117-110 winner, which almost made Adalaide Byrd’s absurd scorecard from the first Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin fight appear reasonable. The two other judges, Minnesota’s John Mariano (115-112) and Panama’s David Singh (114-113), strangely scored a fight Fox undoubtedly won for Maestre as well.

The WBA suspended Florida’s Martinez Rizzo for six months for her controversial scorecard and racist Tweets from her since-deleted personal account in 2020. The WBA itself received long overdue admonishment from the Association of Boxing Commissions for its process of recommending officials and other unscrupulous practices.

The WBA subsequently eliminated all of its interim titles, which confusingly created as many as four WBA champions in many of boxing’s 17 weight classes.

Others questioned WBA president Gilberto Mendoza’s cozy relationship with Maestre, a two-time Olympian for Venezuela, where the WBA was once based. Mendoza denied that he has any vested interest in Maestre’s career in a Yahoo! Sports story written by Kevin Iole.

The result of the fight between Maestre (4-0, 3 KOs) and Fox (22-3, 5 KOs) wasn’t changed to a no-contest, as requested by Fox’s team.

The Minnesota Office of Combative Sports did assign officials for this WBA championship bout between Morrell and Alantez Fox without input from the WBA, though. The WBA, now based in Panama, recommended Martinez Rizzo to judge the Maestre-Fox fight.

Whereas the judges for Maestre-Fox were from Florida, Minnesota and Panama, Pennsylvania’s Lynne Carter, Nevada’s Tim Cheatham and Texas’ Jesse Reyes will work the Morrell-Fox fight.

Alantez Fox’s detractors doubt their scorecards will matter, based largely on Fox’s one-sided, fifth-round, technical-knockout loss to Wales’ Liam Williams in a middleweight match that took place in December 2019 at Copper Box Arena in London.

Mykal Fox feels his 6-feet-4 brother has been a different fighter since he moved up from the middleweight limit of 160 pounds to the super middleweight maximum of 168 last year. He also has seen flaws in Morrell’s game he believes his brother can exploit.

“Morrell seems like he likes all action, but I think that leaves some chances for him to be countered,” Mykal Fox said. “We’ll try to use his aggression against him. He hasn’t been in with anyone who can make him pay for his mistakes. I think that’s gonna be the difference in who he’s faced up until now. Alantez Fox has a lot of experience, so we’ll be looking to use that experience against him.”

https://www.vividseats.com/premier-boxi ... m=&irgwc=1

tickets available.

Floor seats ringside at $696

outer ringside floor seats between $39 - $300

Date: Saturday December 18, 2021
Location: The Armory - Minneapolis, MN
TV: FOX

Start Times
PBC on FOX: 8 pm ET | 5 pm PT | 1 am GMT (Main Card)
PBC on FS1: 6 pm ET | 3 pm PT | 11 pm GMT (Preliminary Card)

Promoted by: Premier Boxing Champions

Main Card

WBA Super Middleweight Championship
David Morrell Jr vs. Alantez Fox,

10 Round Lightweight Bout
Jose Valenzuela vs. Austin Dulay

10 Round Super Lightweight Bout
Alberto Puello vs. Ve Shawn Owens

Prelims on FS1

10 Round Super Lightweight Bout
Richardson Hitchins vs. Malik Hawkins

8 Round Super Featherweight Bout
Hector Luis Garcia vs. Isaac Avelar

6 Round Light Heavyweight Bout
Suray Mahmutovic vs. Pachino Hill

Non-televised undercard

6 Round Super Middleweight Bout
Anthony Sims Jr vs. Manny Woods

4 Round Lightweight Bout
Breeon Carothers vs. Deljerro Revello

4 Round Lightweight Bout
Adrian Benton vs. Raymond Chacon

Main card starts in half hour

This card was free and no one watched it?

I enjoyed watching it. Morrell won as expected in a blowout. Hitchins can't punch even a little bit-I'm not very optimistic about his development into a top level fighter.

David Morrell: I Want To Fight Everyone at 168 - They Just Have To Step Up!

WBA "regular" super middleweight champion David Morrell delivered another knockout in front of his adopted hometown crowd as he stopped Alantez Fox in the fourth round of the FOX PBC Fight Night main event and on FOX Deportes Saturday night from The Armory in Minneapolis.

The 23-year-old Morrell (6-0, 5 KOs), a prolific Cuban amateur who found a home in Minneapolis after turning pro in 2019, scored his second-straight knockout victory in front of his hometown fans, following up a first-round destruction of Mario Cazares in June on FOX.

"I love fighting here in Minnesota,” said Morrell. “This is a great opportunity to fight in front of my fans here. It really motivates me.”

Morell stepped up in competition again on Saturday, facing the durable veteran Fox (28-3-1, 13 KOs), a test he passed in emphatic fashion. Morrell and Fox spent much of the early rounds tied up on the inside, as Fox looked to slow down the offensive-minded Morrell.

Fox had success in avoiding the vaunted straight left hand from the southpaw Morrell, ducking it and tying up consistently in the early rounds. While Fox was able to avoid damage across those first few rounds, Morrell was able to land an efficient 46% of his power punches throughout the action, according to CompuBox.

"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.”

In round four, Morrell broke through with a left uppercut during another tie-up on the inside, landing flushly and putting Fox on the canvas. Morrell immediately upped his attack rate and stalked Fox around the ring, continuing to fling power punches and eventually prompting Fox’s corner to throw in the towel 2:06 into the round.

"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 quickly set his sights on the rest of the elite 168-pound fighters.

"I respect everybody in the super middleweight division, but I want to fight all of them,” said Morrell. “I've got this belt right now and I'm open to fighting any of them. They just have to step up."

Morrell-Fox: FOX's Main Event Averaged 1,031,000 Viewers; Whole Show Averaged 822,000

More than a million viewers watched David Morrell Jr.’s most recent impressive performance on FOX.

Nielsen Media Research released information Tuesday that indicated an average of 1,031,000 viewers saw Morrell’s fourth-round stoppage of Fox and the network’s post-fight coverage Saturday night from The Armory in Minneapolis. The Cuban-born Morrell (6-0, 5 KOs), who relocated to Minneapolis, dropped Fox (28-3-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) in the fourth round before Fox’s father/trainer, Troy, implored referee Mark Nelson to stop their scheduled 12-round fight for Morrell’s WBA world super middleweight title.

FOX’s entire three-fight telecast Saturday night averaged 822,000 viewers. Nielsen’s numbers don’t include those that streamed the telecast or watched it live on FOX Deportes.

In FOX’s co-feature, Seattle-based lightweight prospect Jose Valenzuela (11-0, 7 KOs) dropped Nashville’s Austin Dulay (14-3, 10 KOs, 1 NC) three times in the first round and four times overall on his way to scoring a fourth-round technical knockout.

Their scheduled 10-rounder was stopped by a ringside physician before the action began in the fourth round. Dulay adamantly objected to the stoppage.

In the opener of the telecast, the Dominican Republic’s Alberto Puello (20-0, 10 KOs) out-boxed Minneapolis’ Ve Shawn Owens (13-3, 12 KOs) and won their 10-round welterweight bout by unanimous decision. Puello topped Owens comfortably on all three scorecards (100-90, 99-91 and 98-92).

The average audience for the Morrell-Fox tripleheader was the highest for a FOX boxing telecast since an average of 882,000 tuned in for the broadcast headlined by the 23-year-old Morrell’s first-round knockout of Mexico’s Mario Cazales (12-1, 5 KOs) on June 27 from The Armory.

Earlier Saturday night, FS1’s prelim coverage of the Morrell-Fox undercard was watched by an average of 157,000 viewers. That basic-cable telecast peaked at 211,000 viewers toward the end of the Richardson Hitchins-Malik Hawkins fight, the last bout before coverage switched from FS1 to FOX.

Manhattan’s Hitchins (13-0, 5 KOs), a junior welterweight prospect promoted by Floyd Mayweather’s company, beat Baltimore’s Hawkins (18-2, 11 KOs) by scores of 100-90, 97-93 and 96-94.

Good numbers for Morrell, considering we had UFC, Jake Paul's PPV and Zurdo on DAZN.

pbc will have him on ppv next fight at this rate