Coon Rapids boxer Abell scores TKO PHILADELPHIA - Heavyweight Joey Abell of Coon Rapids advanced his professional boxing record to 12-1 Friday night, knocking out Cornelius Ellis of Wilson, N.C., in three rounds of their scheduled six-round bout. It was a night of knockdowns.
Abell, who boxes as a southpaw, came out using a hard right jab to set up his straight left, and with 10 seconds left in the first round he landed that left hard, putting Ellis down in a neutral corner. Ellis barely was able to stand by the count of 10 and survived the round.
Then, with about 30 seconds remaining in the second round, Abell caught Ellis again, on the ropes, this time sending Ellis out of the ring onto a judge’s table. Ellis was again able to stand and continue.
In the third round, a disoriented Ellis again found himself outside the ropes. The round ended, but the bout was stopped, and Abell won by TKO. Ellis, a late fillin, saw his record fall to 10-13-1.
All 12 of Abell’s wins have come by knockout or technical knockout, and six of them have been in Philadelphia’s fabled Blue Horizon boxing ballroom, the site of Friday’s fight. Boxing with the nickname “Minnesota Ice” he has fought in the building seven times and become a crowd favorite in the hometown of Rocky (who also was a lefthanded heavyweight).
Minnesota’s boxing commission was disbanded by Gov. Jesse Ventura in 2001 and revived only last year with former heavyweight contender Scott Ledoux in charge, so local fighters hoping to make a name for themselves in recnt years have needed to travel………….
By Don Steinberg
Special to the Star Tribune, Minneapolis, | |