Sena Agbeko says WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. (9-0, 8 KOs) hasn’t plied his trade long enough in the professional ranks to deserve a big fight with Canelo Alvarez & David Benavidez.
The 25-year-old four-year professional Morrell has fast-tracked to the top due to his accomplishments as an amateur in Cuba, where he posted an impressive 130-2 record before turning pro in 2019.
Interestingly, Agbeko says he would be deserving of the fight against Canelo if he’s victorious against Morrell. That would be a tough sell if Canelo were to pick Agbeko to fight on PPV, and it wouldn’t matter if he were coming off an unlikely win over Morrell.
Casual fans boxing fans wouldn’t know who Agbeko is, and they would not show interest in purchasing a fight with him and Canelo.
Little-known #10 IBF Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs) is slated to be the opponent for Morrell to defend against on Showtime’s last regular non-PPV broadcast on December 16h in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
This fight is seen as a mismatch, a showcase fight for Morrell, but it’s probably not going to attract much interest from fans who’ve never heard of Agbeko.
It’s unknown why Agbeko was chosen for Morrell to defend against for Showtime’s last show, as there’s nothing on the 31-year-old Ghanian’s twelve-year resume that suggests he deserves to be headlining or getting a title shot.
Essentially, all of Agbeko’s wins have come again second tier tomato cans, and when did break from that pattern in 2021, he was beaten by Vladimir Shishkin by a one-sided ten round unanimous decision by the scores 100-90, 100-90, and 98-92. There’s no word why Agbeko didn’t rematch Shishkin.
Showtime would have been better off insisting on Shishkin being the opponent for Morrell Jr. for their final regular boxing broadcast than Agbeko, who will be cannon fodder for the talented Cuban.
Agneko’s other loss as a professional was to a guy named Raymond Gatica, who knocked him out in the fourth round in 2014.
Morrell not deserving of big fights
“Fighting Morrell in Minneapolis, I understand that I’m going to have to knock him out to win,” said Sena Agbeko to Secondsout, talking about his still unannounced December 16th fight against WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Thus far, Morrell hasn’t been involved in any close fights or controversial decisions during his four-year professional career for Agbeko to be talking about his needing a knockout to win.
It would be understandable for Agbeko to think he would need a KO if Morrell’s short career was littered with controversial decisions, but that’s not the case.
He’s knocked out eight of his nine opponents, and the only guy that went the distance against Morrell, Lennox Allen in 2020, lost by a one-sided ten round unanimous decision.
“Morrell has presented himself as this mythical creature that everybody should be scared of, and nobody wants to fight him. I’m the only guy out there willing to take on this challenge,” said Agbeko.
“I don’t think Morrell has done anything to deserve a shot at the likes of Benavidez & Canelo that he’s calling out. He’s still 9-0; he can take his time to build his record. He needs to get tested. This is only right. He’s been highly touted; there’s been a lot of talk about him.
“I’m just glad it came back around because ultimately, the way boxing works, I know they could have gone with anyone else, and they could have created a narrative to suit that, and yet, they came back around and decided to work with me,” said Sena.
Agbeko getting big opportunity
“I’m grateful for that opportunity, and come December 16th, and as of now, I’ve signed my portion of the contract,” said Agbeko about his fight with Morrell, “I believe it’s on because it was officially announced. As of now, there’s nothing else to do but fight come December 16th.”
It’s disappointing that Morrell isn’t fighting a better opponent for Showtime’s final regular broadcast of boxing than Agbeko. Has Morrell’s reputation scared away the top contenders from wanting to fight him, or what?
We know that Benavidez wasn’t interested in fighting him, but it’s hard to believe that none of the top contenders at 168 wanted to face him either.
“What I feel is where I hold the advantages is what’s unknown about me,” said Agebeko.”A lot of them look at me, look at my knockout ratio, and look at my physique, and then the assumption is there’s a lot of power. They’re right, yes. I do have that pop, I do have that power.
“There’s also a lot that they don’t know about me. Obviously, I’m not going to reveal here. They’re just going to have to come out in the ring come December 16th. Morrell, I’m not the type of person that rates fighters less than they are. No, he’s an excellent fighter,” said Agbeko.
In looking at Agbeko’s recent fight against Isaiah Steen on Showtime, he looked robotic, slow, and overmuscled. The power wasn’t there with Agbeko, and he seemed like an average fringe contender and nothing more than that.
Agbeko is going to have to perform a lot better against Morrell than he did against Steen for him to be competitive because he looked marginal in talent. It’s good that Agbeko is ambitious, but the talent isn’t there, and he doesn’t rate a title shot, even for showcase purposes to make Morrell look great.
“Of course, no one would even believe me. People would think I was crazy if I said that he’s a ‘No good fighter.’ He obviously packs a punch, and he’s very skillful,” said Agbeko. “I think he’s also a little unorthodox, and that’s what a lot of fighters struggle with because his punches come from different angles, far different from your traditional southpaw.
“So, that’s one of his biggest strengths. The peculiarity of his punches, how he puts the combinations together. I definitely feel he hasn’t been tested, and, of course, he’s on a high right now. He’s done everything. He’s gotten rid of every opponent in front of him so far. So, he’s absolutely entitled to that.
“Come December 16th, we’ll just pit our strengths against each other and see who comes out on top. Absolutely,” said Agbeko when asked if he would deserve fights with Canelo & Benavidez if he comes out victorious against Morrell.
“More than anything, I’ve been in the game for a very long time. This is my tenth year in America. At this point, this will be my 31st fight. So, what am I waiting for at this point? Why wouldn’t I be given the shot at a big name? Why wouldn’t I be given a shot against the much bigger names?” Agbeko said.
Agbeko feels he rates Canelo fight
“How many more fights do I have to have? Of course, he’s a younger fighter and has had fewer fights, and he needs to take his time to build himself into whatever he wants to be,” said Agbeko. “But, of course, my plan is to derail that and show that I am this formidable force who also needs a shot.
“I’ve been working hard at this for the last ten years of being in America. So, I think I absolutely deserve a shot at Canelo or whoever it is that will give me a substantive belt in the division once I get past Morrell,” said Agbeko.
There would be such a tremendous backlash against Canelo if he were to choose to fight Agbeko next or at any point in 2024 because fans have been waiting for him to fight Benavidez for ages.
If not Benavdiez, people want Canelo to try to avenge his loss to Dmitry Bivol. An obscure fighter like Agbeko doesn’t enter the equation for a fight with Canelo, no matter how good he looks against Morrell.
Any victory over Morrell would be dismissed by fans, who would quite rightfully point out that he beat a four-year pro.
“The first time I heard that was going be the last Showtime telecast for me, I was in awe,” said Agbeko. “In all the years that I boxed and trained, I never imagined that I would be headlining the very last boxing show on Showtime.
“Of course, it’s one that is going to be memorable, etched in the history books. It’s important that I create a positive image of myself in this fight, and the way to do that is to make sure I win this fight win this belt, and leave my mark, etched forever as the last guy to win a championship on Showtime Boxing.
“It’s a big deal to me, but I try not to think about it too much of mentally burdening myself and focusing on the task at hand.
“Unless it’s a total domination, a masterclass for twelve rounds for that and judges to give it to me,” Agbeko continued about his fight with Morrell Jr. “So my goal, my objective for that night, which I’m training for very much so to knock him out and that’s it. Knock him out.
“This is going to be my referee [left hand and this going to be my judge [right hand]. So, that is the plan come December 16th, and I’m not playing about it,” said Agbeko.
