Alberto Puello made his United States debut in grand fashion by showcasing his sharp and superior boxing skills and cruised to a unanimous decision win against Ve Shawn Owens.

Dominican Republic’s Puello (20-0, 9 KOs) – an undefeated former interim WBA interim champion at 140 and Josh Taylor’s current WBA mandatory challenger – used a sharpshooting counter attack to stop aggressive and rugged counterpart Owens in a ten-round fight that was contracted to take place at 143 pounds Saturday at The Armory in Minneapolis.

The judges scored it 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92.

Puello outlanded Owens in every round, totaling 171 to 78 by the final bell. Puello landed 150 total power punches, 47 of which were to the body. Puello averaged 17.1 punches landed per round, compared to 7.8 by Owens, per CompuBox. 

The shutout loss for Owens was not due to lack of effort, as Owens actually threw more punches in the fight – 478 to 440. 

The spirited Owens (13-3, 12 KOs) seemingly never had a chance from the opening bell, haplessly showing aggression with a come forward attack but eating plenty of heavy leather from Puello via counter punches for his efforts. Two of the judges apparently awarded him for it, giving him a total of three rounds in the fight. 

Owens’ offensive-minded approach led to a head butt, as Puello sliced the end of the right eyebrow of Owens midway through the second round. Referee Harvey Dock ruled it an accidental foul. 

The homecoming for the 30-year-old, Minneapolis native Owens was a sour one, who suffered his third-career loss to an up-and-coming undefeated fighter. Owens’ previous two losses were to Sebastian Fundora and Chordale Booker, both in 2018.

The 27-year-old Puello is a six-year pro. He secured the WBA belt when he beat Spaniard Jonathan Alonso via unanimous decision in 2019. 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com