He attended Champlin Park High School,[1] and later played football at South Dakota State University, where he majored in Education and Human Science.
[2] The first fight of Abell's professional career was marred when his opponent, Ritchie Goosehead, fell through the ropes and landed on the cement.
[4] Abell remained undefeated through ten bouts, then he was KOd by Aaron Lyons at The Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[4] Abell defeated his first notable opponent in undefeated Teke Oruh of Nigeria on points, in a fight televised on Showtime on November 16, 2007.
In January 2011 A distracted Abell was defeated in the first round by heavyweight contender Chris Arreola.