Albert Bell's quest to become a titleholder saw him change weight classes and move up to lightweight. By doing so, he found his next fight on social media.
Bell will face Keith Hunter on Saturday at the Huntington Center in Bell’s hometown of Toledo, Ohio. The bout will be a 10-round main event.
Bell, 27-0 (9 KOs), sat patiently while holding the WBO junior lightweight No.1 ranking from August 2023 to September 2024. In April, Bell moved up to lightweight and won a 10-round unanimous decision over Josec Ruiz. Afterward, he took to social media, indicating that he wanted to face the best in his new division. Hunter responded by letting Bell know that that was where he drew a line, since that was his weight class.
“My opponent pulled out, and he called me out on his birthday,” Bell told BoxingScene. “Now, we got a fight made.”
Bell, 33, did his whole camp in Toledo. When asked about his inability to secure a title shot despite an unblemished record, and if he thought people were waiting until he got older, based on his style, which uses a lot of movement around the ring, Bell says it’s a possibility.
“It could be that,” Bell said. “Or they are just avoiding me, period. I don’t know if they ever intend to fight me.”
Before moving up in weight, Bell stopped three opponents in a row. Bell noted that he has taken into consideration what the fans want to see and has been looking to drop opponents as of late. Bell is currently ranked No.8 by the IBF and No.11 by the WBO, as he spoke to looking to improve his rankings in the sanctioning bodies to land a marquee bout within his new division.
“I have to keep doing what I have been doing,” Bell said. “I am just taking it one fight at a time, and positioning myself in different sanctioning bodies that will guarantee us a title shot, unlike how it went down at 130lbs.”
Hunter, 16-2 (10 KOs), is the younger brother of 2012 U.S. Olympian Michael Hunter. Hunter, also 33, is based out of Las Vegas, and is coming off a knockout win in February over David Reyes Cota. That was his first fight since his lone career stoppage in December 2023 to Rohan Polanco at junior welterweight. Hunter has been confident about how he feels the fight will play out on social media, something Bell has seen.
“I am ready to shut this dude up,” Bell said.
