Fulton cruises past Roman, calls for undisputed junior featherweight title fight
Morrell destroys Henderson; Cordina wins junior lightweight title on monster KO
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When Stephen Fulton Jr. won a majority decision over Brandon Figueroa to unify the WBO and WBC junior featherweight titles in November, many disputed the result. Not so in Fulton’s return on Saturday night.
Fulton thoroughly dominated former unified titlist Daniel Roman in a one-sided unanimous decision to retain his unified 122-pound titles in the main event of the Premier Boxing Champions card on Showtime before a sold-out crowd of 4,695 at The Armory in Minneapolis.
Fulton won 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109 and even Roman could not muster any argument.
“There’s no excuse. I think this fight proves who the best 122-pound fighter in the division is. Fulton did that tonight. He proved it,” Roman said.
Indeed, Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs), 27, of Philadelphia, displayed a complete arsenal in dismantling Roman, who was widely viewed as serious threat going into the bout. But Fulton shut him down.
Fulton, who won his first title in January 2021 by lopsided decision against Angelo Leo and was making his second defense, beat Roman (29-4-1, 10 KOs), 31, of Los Angeles, on the inside and outside and battered him with hard jabs.
“Fulton knew how to use his distance,” Roman said. “It was hard for me to adjust to his distance because he was boxing. He came in and came out. He changed his style so it was hard for me to adjust.”
According to CompuBox statics, Fulton landed 218 of 602 punches (36 percent) and Roman landed 113 of 673 (17 percent). Fulton outlanded Roman in every round except the third round. The CompuBox junior featherweight average for jabs landed per round is four. Fulton averaged nine landed jabs per round and connected with 106 for the fight.
“I made a hell of a statement,” Fulton said. “I prepared for this and I told y’all I was going to make it easy and fight depending on how I wake up, and I woke up feeling good. It was very important to control the distance. Like I said before in the last outing with Brandon Figueroa, I didn’t have the energy because I didn’t make the weight the right way. So shout out to my dietitian.”
Roman was aggressive as he tried to press the action and go to Fulton’s body but he almost no success. Fulton jabbed him, countered and moved out of the way in a near-flawless performance.
“Any moment (Roman) had, I took it right away from him. I neutralized the threat,” Fulton said. “I started walking him down because I saw that he had been slowing down. I wanted to stop him but I didn’t get that.”
Fulton now wants to fully unify the division and become the undisputed champion. That would mean facing IBF/WBA titleholder Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev (10-0, 7 KOs), 27, a southpaw from Uzbekistan, who would have to defeat mandatory challenger Ronny Rios on June 25 in San Antonio.
Fulton-Akhmadaliev or a fight with Rios is a hard deal to make because while Fulton is with PBC and fights on Showtime, Akhmadaliev is with Matchroom Boxing and Rios is with Golden Boy and they both fight on DAZN.
Roman has also faced Akhmadaliev, who won a debatable split decision in January 2020 to take his unified belts in a fight many thought Roman won. Roman came into Saturday’s fight having won his two fights since the loss.
“I wish him the best and I hope he goes and achieves what I couldn’t achieve,” Roman said of said Fulton facing Akhmadaliev. “Go become undisputed. Like I said, this fight proved who is the best in the division. Fulton was the better man tonight.”
Fulton said before beating Roman — and again after — that his goal is to become the undisputed champion. He is one fight away if it can be made.
“You already know what’s next,” Fulton said. “I want MJ. I got to finish this up. But much respect for Danny Roman. Much respect.”
Morrell crushes Henderson
In the co-feature, Cuban southpaw David Morrell (7-0, 6 KOs), 24, who fights out of Minneapolis, easily stopped Kalvin Henderson (15-2-1, 11 KOs), 31, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, in the fourth round of a one-sided battering to retain the WBA “regular” super middleweight belt for the third time.
It was a beat down from the opening bell and Morrell’s hometown fans ate it up. Morrell hammered Henderson to the head and body in each round. He dished out tremendous punishment and referee Luis Pabon was close to stopping it in the third round as Henderson languished on the ropes and took abuse, including a head-snapping right hook that hurt him in the final moments of the round.
Morrell, in his second fight under the tutelage of renowned trainer Ronnie Shields, continued to damage Henderson in the fourth round until Pabon finally intervened at 2 minutes, 35 seconds.
“I’m excited,” Morrell said, speaking some in Spanish and some in English. “Thank you everyone for coming out to The Armory. I’m just happy, man. I’m happy. I’m so excited every time I fight in my new home in Minnesota. I made this place my home.
“We knew that he wanted to come out strong like he did, but we wanted to show that his punches weren’t doing anything. We were picking off most of those shots. We were trying to wear him out, and the game plan was working but he landed some shots and the referee called it.”
Morrell, who only has a few pro fights but a deep amateur background from his days on the Cuban national team, wants to step up to face a top 168-pounder. He said it before facing Henderson and again after the knockout.
“It’s David Benavidez, it’s Caleb Plant, it’s Anthony Dirrell, it’s whoever wants to get in the ring with me,” Morrell said, ticking off a list of former titleholders and fellow PBC fighters, but not naming undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez. “I’m ready for any of them.”
Cordina blasts out Ogawa
Joe Cordina announced himself on the world stage with a massive knockout of the year contender as he crushed Kenichi Ogawa in the second round to win the IBF junior lightweight title on Saturday in the main event of the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
Fighting in front of passionate hometown fans, Cordina (15-0, 9 KOs), 30, a 2016 Olympian, who is known more as a boxer than big puncher, caught Ogawa with a flush overhand right hand on the chin that flattened him and separated him from his senses.
Ogawa went down hard on his back and slammed his head on the canvas. He rolled over onto all fours but then fell over as referee Michael Alexander waved it off at 1 minute, 15 seconds, sending Cordina, trainer Tony Sims and the rest of his team into a wild celebration.
“We call it ‘the Roberto Duran,’” Cordina said of the KO punch. “It’s an amazing feeling when you put hours and hours and hours of work into a combination or a punch and then you put it into a fight and it comes off and lights out.”
Cordina eased up on his celebration to make sure Ogawa was OK. Ogawa eventually was placed on his stool and given oxygen and left the ring under his own power.
Ogawa (26-2-1, 18 KOs), 29, of Japan, was making his first title defense since claiming the vacant 130-pound belt by clear decision over Azinga Fuzile, whom he knocked down twice, on Nov. 27 on the Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos Jr. undercard in New York.
Hearn was impressed with Cordina not only winning the title but the manner in which he achieved it.
“It’s how you win a world title and people questioned the power of Joe Cordina,” Hearn said. “Tonight, he announced himself to the world.”
Fulton-Roman and Morrell-Henderson photos: Esther Lin/Showtime; Ogawa-Cordina photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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Cordina's ko of Ogawa was indeed a punch the greatest lightweight of them all Roberto Duran would have been proud of. Lets hope these unification bouts that lead to undisputed title bouts continue. If the sport is to get healthy we need more off it.
> I have no confidence in the Fulton vs MJ fight being made as Dan pointed out. It's ridiculous that different companies won't work together to make the best fights. When it comes to PBC and Matchroom the problem seems to be Haymon rather than Eddie Hearn.
> Great win and punch from Joe Cordina - seems like the bone from his hip and the titanium strips that were put in his hand have done the trick.