LAS VEGAS — If there was one fight that seemed all but guaranteed to go the distance on the Joseph Agbeko-Abner Mares undercard, it was the scheduled 10-round Eric Morel-Daniel Quevedo bout.
Morel, THE RING?s No. 6-rated bantamweight, is a former flyweight titleholder who is not known for his power. Quevedo, an L.A.-based journeyman, had never been knocked out.
Morel, a 1996 U.S. Olympian from Madison, Wisc., by way of Puerto Rico, dropped Quevedo in the first and second rounds before the rugged Mexican remained on his stool after the fourth.
Morel, who is reportedly in line for a shot at WBA bantamweight beltholder Anselmo Moreno later this year, was expected to win handily but nobody expected the pure boxer to overwhelm Quevedo.
Well, Morel (45-2, 23 knockouts) says he expected it.
?I was not at all surprised by the stoppage,? the 35-year-old veteran told RingTV.com. ?I was just taking my time and getting the right distance to land hard punches, but it wasn?t easy. People look at his record and think he?s somebody who a fighter of my experience should knockout right away, but the guy could fight.?
Quevedo (13-12-2, 8 KOs), the 27-year-old holder of Mexico?s national 122-pound title, is indeed capable. However, he could not handle Morel?s excellent footwork, hand speed and ability to deliver shots from angles whenever they were in close.
?I was trying to catch him blind (with punches off angles), but it was kind of difficult to do it with him, so I kept working at him. I thought I would eventually break him down and take him out late in the fight. I didn?t expect him to stay on his stool after the fourth.?
Morel was asked if he wanted to face the winner of card?s main event between Agbeko and Mares.
?I want Moreno first, I want to beat him and then I want the winner of tonight?s fight to unify the belts. And the winner of that one should take on (Nonito) Donaire.
