Albert Bell Beats De Alba On Points In Dull Eight-Rounder

RENO, Nevada – This win wasn’t as entertaining or noteworthy for Albert Bell as his last victory, but it kept Bell unbeaten.

The tall, rangy junior lightweight out-boxed Frank De Alba and won an unremarkable unanimous decision in their eight-rounder on the Shakur Stevenson-Joet Gonzalez undercard Saturday night at Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Judges Adalaide Byrd, Tim Cheatham and Chris Migliore each credited Bell with winning all eight rounds and scored the bout identically, 80-72.

Bell improved to 16-0, though he didn’t do much to satisfy a restless crowd. He was cautious in how he approached De Alba (23-5-2, 9 KOs), a veteran southpaw from Reading, Pennsylvania.

The 26-year-old Bell beat previously undefeated Andy Vences by unanimous decision in his last fight, a 10-rounder June 15 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Vences (23-1-1, 12 KOs) bounced back from that loss by defeating the Philippines’ Mark Bernaldez (19-3, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision in another eight-rounder earlier Saturday night.

Seemingly content to go the distance, Bell boxed from a distance and landed an occasional jab in the final two rounds. De Alba struggled to get inside and couldn’t connect with clean punches in those final six minutes.

Fans voiced their displeasure sporadically throughout the second half of their uneventful encounter.

Bell spent much of the sixth round throwing one punch at a time and moving out of De Alba’s punching range. De Alba knocked out Bell’s mouthpiece in the fifth round, but he couldn’t hurt his unbeaten opponent.

Fans booed due to a lack of action in the third round. In the fourth round, Bell blasted De Alba with a right uppercut that caused De Alba to bang his gloves together, letting Bell know he wasn’t hurt.

The crowd made their displeasure known again later in the fourth.

Bell controlled the first two rounds from a distance. He occasionally landed straight right hands that kept De Alba from moving forward.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.