Albert Bell passes a good test in Manuel Rojas, earns unanimous decision
WBO #12 rated junior lightweight “Prince” Albert Bell (17-0, 5ko) is fighting for the first time in 2021 against Texas fighter Manuel Rey Rojas (20-4, 6ko). This is a good fight for the Prince.
Prince was to be a possible opponent for WBO champion Jamel Herring. He accused the champion of taking the easy route by not fighting him. Well, he could be in for a long night with Rojas.
Rojas, despite losing, gave once-highly regarded prospect Felix Verdejo all he could handle back in January 2020. Ironically, both fighters share a common foe. In 2015, Rojas was knocked out by Andy Vences, who then lost to Bell in 2019. So by all accounts, Bell should win the fight. However, this is boxing, and triangle theories are not reliable.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Bell used his height and reach advantage from the moment the bell sounded, and he landed a beautiful left hook to the body while attacking a stunned Rojas.
The 6’0” Toledo native kept the fight in the center of the ring, landing the jab and the uppercut to the mid-section. Bell was getting comfortable throwing a lead and counter left hook after stepping back to create space.
MAKING IT A UGLY FIGHT
Rojas would try to make it an ugly fight by bullying his way in and landing the overhand right. The two fighters, scrapping in close, collided heads, causing a cut on the forehead of the Texas brawler. Rojas would regroup after a short break. He was able to land some good body shots as Bell elected to fight in a phonebooth.
As the fight progressed, Bell abandoned the jab and started fighting up close and getting ugly. However, he was successful in landing the left hooks and uppercuts to the body. He even applied some old tricks like using the shoulder to create space while landing a well-placed uppercut.
Bell would finally rediscover what was working (the jab) and started using it. Further, he landed the uppercut again to the mid-section, freezing Rojas for a brief moment.
Rojas wasn’t going to be deterred. He began moving his head, slipping the jab, getting inside, and going to the body while landing the overhand right.
In the final round, both fighters took it back to the gym wars. Rojas kept the pressure on by landing the left hook to the body, staying in the chest of the taller Toledo fighter, making it a grueling fight. Meanwhile, Bell put on the mean-mug face and landed hard left hooks to the body, followed by a perfect uppercut, sending the mouthpiece of the Texas fighter to the ground.
When time expired, both fighters had left it all in the ring in this good, eight-round fight. All three judges scored it 78-74 for “Prince” Bell.
This is a decent win for Bell and although this fight was at lightweight, it will be interesting to see what the Toledo fighter decides to do next with a bump up in the ranking from this victory.
By: Garrisson Bland
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