It’s been a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week for Imam Khataev.
Through five rounds of his 10-round light heavyweight war with David Morrell Jnr on Saturday, the difficult days that preceded it must have felt worth the thrill. Despite the International Testing Agency publicizing Khataev’s April 2024 positive test for the banned substance clomifene, threatening his participation in the fight under the lights of Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York City, he was there – and taking the fight to and beating up Morrell, a significant pre-fight favorite. The bout, on the undercard of the “Ring III” slate headlined by Edgar Berlanga-Hamzah Sheeraz and Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda, was hard to beat for violence.
In the fifth – Morrell’s best round at that stage – Khataev put together two hard counter rights at the end of the frame. The second sent Morrell stumbling backwards across the ring and into the ropes, then to the ground.
At that point, a split decision for Morrell was unthinkable. And even after Morrell’s late-fight surge, it still seemed improbable. But Cuba’s Morrell claimed a narrow win by scores of 96-93, 95-94 and 94-95, moving to 12-1 (9 KOs) as Russia’s Khataev fell to 10-1 (9 KOs).
Khataev advertised himself as a threat in the opening round, curling right hands around Morrell’s high guard, landing to the head and body. Morrell simply smiled and stuck his tongue out, later returning fire with counter lefts. At the tail end of the round, Khataev landed a right squarely on Morrell’s face. Spirited by his success, he blasted away with body shots, landing one to each side.
A left hook met Morrell’s jaw in the second round; broadcaster Sergio Mora speculated that it had rocked him. Morrell furthered that impression: He was fighting on the back foot, pumping his jab. Morrell then ducked into the path of a right hand and wobbled slightly as Khataev unloaded with both hands. Morrell merely smiled again and beckoned the Russian on.
A small cut had bloomed over Khataev’s eye; during that follow-up fusillade, it widened and reddened. Still, he was getting the better of the action. Though Morrell displayed many praiseworthy attributes in his February loss to David Benavidez, arguably the most impressive was his chin. In three rounds, Khataev rattled it more than Benavidez could in 12. And the worst was yet to come.
Morrell snapped some left-hand counters onto the target in Round 4, but continued to ship punishment. The fighters traded vicious body punches. As hard as Morrell’s were, Khataev’s were nastier. The Russian beat Morrell in output, too, more than tripling his connects to the body in the first half of the fight.
In the fifth, Morrell landed a colossal right hand to the head. It got no significant reaction. Morrell followed it with body shots, though, and for the first time forced Khataev to retreat. The Russian had gone the distance just once in his career and began sucking wind. Maybe Morrell was so sure of himself in those difficult early rounds because he knew what would come late.
But he grew overconfident and suffered that seemingly decisive knockdown. The round, which had seemed like Morrell’s best, magnified the Cuban’s deficit.
Morrell showed urgency late in the sixth, firing body shots that again momentarily forced Khataev onto the back foot. He took a left high on the head earlier in the round for his trouble – though he was able to eat it this time.
Morrell landed a right hand out of the clinch in the eighth, his best shot in several rounds. It had no effect. Khataev’s own right, which split the high guard, momentarily froze Morrell. Finally, a pair of fierce counter lefts from Morrell sent Khataev stumbling backwards. But the advantage was slight and Morrell ended the round in retreat once more.
Morrell let loose with a bloodlusted combination in the ninth, catching Khataev with several clean shots. A right uppercut sent Khataev’s head flying towards the sky, bringing to mind Lennox Lewis’ peach of an uppercut against Vitali Klitschko in 2002. For an instant, it seemed that Khataev might wilt to the canvas. Then the foundation strengthened again, Khataev launched his own combination and the moment disappeared. Klitschko would have been proud of his chin.
In the 10th, a crunching right hand and a murderous left hurt Khataev once more. He appeared one punch away from going down. In the vital moment, though, in which it seemed he might be able to secure a late knockdown or stoppage, Morrell paused and backed off. By the time he re-engaged, precious few seconds remained on the clock. Khataev ended the fight on his feet and throwing, even backing Morrell up yet again.
Morrell fought bravely and showed astonishing durability, but it seemed that his comeback came a bit too late and wasn't quite decisive enough. The judges disagreed.
So Khataev, despite having Morrell’s measure in the first half of the fight and staying competitive late, walked away empty-handed. But he’ll have no shortage of fans eager to see him again.
In the opener, a distant memory by the time Khataev and Morrell finished beating in each other’s brains, 22-year-old Reito Tsutsumi stopped overmatched late replacement Michael Ruiz in two rounds. Immediately after the opening bell, Tsutsumi rushed Ruiz, 33, and landed clean power punches to the head and body.
Late in the first round, Tsutsumi detonated a shot on Ruiz’s left flank, forcing him to sink to a knee. Ruiz beat the count, only to be sent back to the canvas by another shot on his other side. Although outgunned in power, skill and innate talent, Ruiz rose once more.
In his corner between rounds, Tsutsumi grinned broadly and nodded his head repeatedly.
Seconds into Round 2, Tsutsumi flashed a straight left that decked Ruiz once again. Ruiz shook his head after hitting the canvas, saving the referee from having to count past five. Tsutsumi moved to 2-0 (1 KO) and Ruiz fell to 2-8-1, suffering his fourth stoppage loss. Ruiz landed just two of 23 punches in the defeat, a fitting summation of the mismatch.
Owen Lewis is a freelance writer with bylines at Defector Media, The Guardian and The Second Serve. He is also a writer and editor at BoxingScene. His beats are tennis, boxing, books, travel and anything else that satisfies his meager attention span. He is on Bluesky and can be contacted at owentennis11@gmail.com.
