David Morrell Jr. scored a finish in front of his hometown Saturday night.
Morrell Jr. defended his WBA super middleweight title in the main event live on Showtime over Aidos Yerbossynuly. The event took place from The Armory in Minneapolis.
“Thank you everybody in Minnesota for coming to support me,” said Morrell, who predicted an eighth-round KO during Thursday’s final press conference. “Thank you to my family, my team, everybody. I’m so excited, man. I told everyone at the press conference that the fight is mine.
“I saw he was hurt at that moment and then the results came in, that knockdown came. A knockout is a knockout, so if it’s in the eighth or 12th round, it’s a knockout anyways.”
Ahead 110-99 twice and 108-101 entering the final round, Morrell (8-0, 7 KOs) wasn’t satisfied with just winning on the scorecards, as he pressed to extend his four-fight KO streak and put an exclamation mark on his performance.
With just forty seconds left in the fight, Morrell did exactly that. The 24-year-old Cuban, who now lives and fights out of Minneapolis, flattened Yerbossynuly (16-1, 11 KOs) with a straight left hand followed by a right hook, sending the lively crowd at The Armory into a frenzy.
It was the second time in the round that Yerbossynuly was dropped after a straight left hand sent him to the canvas for the third time in his career.
In the co-main event, late replacement Brian Mendoza (21-2, 15 KOs) seized his opportunity and delivered a stunning fifth-round KO over former unified world champion Jeison Rosario (23-4-1, 17 KOs) in a performance that Mendoza described as career-altering.
The 27-year-old Rosario announced his retirement following the fight.