Super-middleweight boxer saved from distraction by trainer

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WBA ‘regular’ super-middleweight boxer David Morrell Jr. was saved from multiple distractions in the ring yesterday while fighting Sena Agbeko.

Speaking to FightHype, his trainer Ronnie Shields revealed his thoughts about the 25-year old’s performance against 37-year old Sena Agbeko (28-3, 22 KOs).

‘I know my guy. I know big and strong he is, and I know how hard he hits,’ said Shields.

‘I figured if we could jump on him [Agbeko] early and get three or four punches off on him, I figured we’d get a stoppage.

‘I wanted him to have a great first round, but he didn’t, and I had to jump on him a little bit about that because that’s what we trained for.’

Shields was displeased with more than one of the things Morrell Jr. did while competing with the older fighter.

During the competition, Shields allegedly had to call Morrell Jr. back in order when several words from outside the ring became distractions to the boxer. This likely saved the younger man the lack of full concentration he needed for a speedy knockout.

You do not have to be a boxer to imagine how it feels to be the recipient of multiple instructions from different people while in danger of being knocked down.

In his post-match interview, Ronnie Shields showed he disliked how Morrell Jr. won Agbeko during the second round.

‘He did it in the second round,’ Shields said. ‘He did in the second round what he was supposed to do in the first round. I didn’t like that people were hollering at him, and he was looking at the audience.

‘That’s a no-no. You don’t do that, but it was people that he respects that he was turning and listening to. I had to stop him right away. “Listen, man. You have to focus on what you’re doing.” In this game, you can’t take chances.’

We might not know whether Shields unknowingly saved Morrell Jr. either from defeat or a more late knockout win. The trainer knows his trainee more than most outsiders.