Notebook: Compassionate Morrell shows support for fallen foe Yerbossynuly

Estrada pumped for Top Rank debut; Martinez-Arroyo off again; Edwards speaks out; prospect Azim gets new deal; Rosario retires; Quick hits; Show and tell

A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.

David Morrell has made his first public comments since the traumatic brain injury suffered by Aidos Yerbossynuly in a 12th-round knockout loss to Morrell on Saturday night.

Morrell retained the WBA “regular” super middleweight title in a brutal 12th-round knockout victory over Yerbossynuly in the PBC/Showtime main event at The Armory in Cuba native Morrell’s adopted hometown.

Morrell (8-0, 7 KOs), 24, who was making his fourth title defense, dominated the entire fight. He battered and bloodied Yerbossynuly and led 110-99 on two scorecards and was up 108-101 on the third before scoring a 12th-round knockdown and then knocking him out with 26 seconds left.

Yerbossynuly was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he eventually had surgery to relieve swelling of his brain and was put into a medically induced coma, sources told Fight Freaks Unite. Placing a patient with that injury into a medically induced coma is done in order to allow time for brain swelling to go down.