IT may not have been by methods endorsed by his corner team, but David Morrell stood firm and engaged with Imam Khataev for many of their shared 10 rounds in New York’s Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The result was a hugely engaging firefight, won by Morrell, by split decision scores of 96-93 (John McKaie) and 95-94 (Allen Nace) in his favour. Tony Lundy went 95-94 the other way.
With both men billed as big bangers, the power punches were expected to rain in from all angles, unless Morrell opted to step off and use his southpaw skills to defuse beastly Khataev. The Cuban decided to go toe-to-toe, resulting in an exciting spectacle that landed him in trouble multiple times.
None more so than in the fifth round when a thudding right hand dropped the 27-year-old for a count. Shaken and stirred, Morrell bounced back to somehow eke out the rounds and overall victory. Khataev was on wobbly legs, clearly exhausted in the final seconds of the final round. Morrell tried to get him out of there, or at least force a knockdown.
It went to the cards, and Khataev, now 10-1 (9 KOs), who entered off the back of a PED storm that unfolded during fight week, will leave New York feeling hard done by. Morrell is now 12-1 (9 KOs), with his sole loss coming to David Benavidez, who was in town promoting a November clash with Anthony Yarde.
