Marcus Morrison wins WBC International belt
On Thursday July 11th, DAZN's main event from Rome, Italy, saw former prospect Marcus Morrison (21-3) of Manchester, England revive his career from the away corner with a ninth round TKO of veteran home fighter Emanuele Blandamura (29-3).
It was a competitive fight, albeit rather uneventful, until late into the ninth round when the Briton walked the Italian onto a heavy right hand causing the Roma resident to hit the deck hard. Blandamura bravely got up to the sound of a stunned audience, but referee Francisco Alloza Rosa made the correct decision to stop the fight at 2:44 of the ninth segment.
After the stoppage, Blandamura had to be physically held up and required immediate medical attention, but was fortunately recovered in just a few minutes and able to congratulate his conqueror on his victory.
For Morrison, 26, it was a perfect end to a year of rebuilding after an unexpected and thoroughly disappointing defeat to Alistair Warren (10-18-4) in June 2018.
'Sweet MNM' squeezed in three six-rounders and an eight-rounder against the usual suspects in his division between October 2018 and April 2019 to set up his fifth successive win within a year of that defeat to Warren, who hasn't won since that surprise over Morrison, seven fights later.
Trained by Joe Gallagher, the Mancunian had run his record to 14-0 before an upset to an invigorated Jason Welborn in March 2017, which was followed three months later by a stunning loss to club fighter Tyan Booth. It looked like the end of a once-promisinng prospect, but the youngster has now managed to revive his career over the past 12 months and will be in the driving seat for some big fights in the new season from September onwards.
For the 39-year-old Blandamura, this fourth defeat could signal the end of a glittering career. He won the European middleweight title in 2016, having previously failed in two attempts, and challenged for a world title in April 2018 against Ryota Murata in Japan. He can hang his gloves up with pride, should he choose to do so.
Other Results:
Serhiy Demchenko TKO-7 Hakim Zoulikha (1:20)
Tommy McCarthy RTD-2 Francesco Cataldo (3:00)
Valentino Manfredonia UD-4 Sokol Arsic (39-37, 39-37, 39-37)
Emiliano Marsili UD-6 Brayan Mairena (60-55, 60-54, 60-54)
Mirko Natalizi UD-6 Antonio Gomez (59-55, 60-54, 60-54)
Vincenzo Bevilacqua UD-6 Novak Radulovic (59-55, 59-55, 60-54)