How David Morrell Jr. got to Minnesota, and where he's going next, are fascinating stories both

The young boxer was known as Osvary Morrell while becoming a star amateur in his home country of Cuba. He turned 20 on Jan. 18, 2018, only a few days before winning a gold medal in the first-ever India Open International Tournament in New Delhi.

There had been several other gold medals in international events and he had an advertised amateur record of 130-2.

This excellence created the lure of a professional career, and that drew three men from the Morrell family to the sea on June 4, 2018: the father, Rafael Sr.; the older son, Rafael Jr.; and Osvary.

There was a boat there that would attempt to take them away from Cuba and start the journey across the big water to Mexico. To get to that boat, the Morrell men would need to swim a considerable distance and avoid the security patrols on the lookout for these forbidden seacraft with human cargo.

Rafael Jr. and Osvary made it to the boat. So did Rafael Sr., but as he climbed aboard, somehow in the congestion, he fell back into the sea.

"My father was there, at the back of the boat,'' younger son Osvary said. "And then he slipped. People tried to hold onto him, but he was back in the water.

"I started to freak out. I was trying to jump overboard, to help him, but my brother said, 'What are you doing? He's going to get picked up soon, You'd get picked up, too.'"

Rafael Sr. said a few days ago: "The police boat that was following us took me out of the water. They held me for 20 days, and then I was allowed to go home.''

The two sons made it to Mexico and started the wait to move legally to the United States. Rafael Sr. was back in Cuba, the Santa Clara area 175 miles from Havana, and rejoined his wife Bety Gutierrez, a school teacher, and younger twin sons in the small family house.

A year later came the news that the older sons were in Miami, and Osvary, the boxing prodigy, had signed with Warriors Boxing. He was about to start his pro career, billed as David Morrell Jr.

. . .

Isis Rodriguez was asked: "So his father is Rafael, and there's already a Rafael Jr., so who is David Sr.?"

She laughed and said: "There isn't one. I always tell him, 'You're a fake 'Junior.' It's part of the promotion in boxing, I guess."

Rodriguez was born and raised in Shakopee. Her parents come from Honduras and moved back there in recent years.

Isis was working as a financial manager at Motorwerks in the Twin Cities, then took a job in West Palm Beach, Fla. Warriors Boxing is located in the area and she met David early in his career.

They own a Florida home and are now the parents of Gabriel, a 3-month-old son. And while David is in training at Ronnie Shields Gym in Houston, Isis is getting help with the baby from grandparents Rafael and Bety, freshly and legally immigrated to the United States.

Quotes here from Rafael Sr. were interpreted by Rodriguez. Quotes from David Jr. were interpreted in Houston by a representative of Premier Boxing Champions, on Zoom calls to promote next Saturday's fight at the Minneapolis Armory.

The main event on the 16th will be Morrell Jr., holder of a WBA 168-pound title, vs. Sena Agbeko. This will be the last boxing card on Showtime, which is dropping its commitment to the sport after nearly four decades.

On Thursday, it was announced by Amazon Prime that it will be the new home of Premier Boxing Champions starting in 2024.

Isis, baby Gabriel and David's parents are heading to Minneapolis for Saturday's event. It will be the first chance for Rafael Sr. to see his son fight in person since he was boxing in small gyms around Santa Clara.

"He left as a boy," Rafael Sr. said. "When we went to Houston to see him last month, I said, 'My baby is now a man.' I would pick him up and call him 'baby.' No more."

Whether the ringside crowd next Saturday will include mom Bety … that's another issue.

"She does not like boxing," Rafael Sr. said. "She says, 'They hit you in the face.' She can't stand that. I boxed, too, but I tried to get David to play baseball. At 9, he saw boxing and said, 'I want to do that.'"

David said as a youngster he would practice baseball in the afternoon, and then go to the gym. Eventually, he was allowed to skip the baseball part and spend hours in the gym.

Luis DeCubas Sr., from Warriors Boxing, said:

"A friend of mine from Cuba sent me a tape of Morrell as a 17-year-old. He was in the ring with Julio César La Cruz, about 28 then, a two-time Olympic champion, a legend of Cuba.

"He was Osvary then, and when I saw that tape with La Cruz — he actually should've won the fight — I said, 'He's going to be a lefthanded Carlos Monzón. He's going to be great.'

"I've been with Roberto Duran. I know the Real McCoy when I see him. And Morrell was it."

Still, once Morrell made it to Mexico, there were some people "who were not nice guys," DeCubas said, trying to take over his career.

"We were able to convince him to do everything the right way," DeCubas said "He stayed a year and became a Mexican citizen. We got him a P-1 work visa. And, with Ned Abdul bringing back boxing to the Armory, we sent David to Minneapolis to train, to have a home crowd.

"He had so much experience as an amateur, in the ring with the best amateurs in the world. We said, 'He can be a champion within three or four fights.' And that's what happened.

"This will only be his 10th pro fight, but he's unbeaten, of course, and everyone in boxing is talking about him."

Morrell was sent from Minneapolis to Houston a couple of years ago to train with Ronnie Shields. He's a real light heavyweight (175 or more) who has to work ferociously to stay at 168 pounds, since that's where the big money is.

After fight night on the 16th, assuming a win: Likely David Benavidez, and a super-middleweight division that also has Caleb Plant and the tremendous Canelo Álvarez.

"We had Benavidez agreed to a fight in November, and then his dad backed out," DeCubas said. "They just had a pay-per-view that nobody watched, so they need a big fight. … David would be it."

First, Sena Agbeko next Saturday, with family in attendance — Dad, maybe Mom with her eyes covered, brothers and Isis.

"That young woman from Minnesota is the best thing that ever happened to that kid," DeCubas said. "She is smart. She is great."

Excellent interpreter, too.