Veteran Francisco Rodriguez Jr scored an upset in Birmingham, England, and did it in fashion, dominating Galal Yafai to win the interim WBC flyweight title on large, unanimous determination scores.
Rodriguez gained the combat on tallies of 118-109, 119-108, and 119-108, with no decide mysteriously seeing it nearer than the remainder of the world or something. This was a purely one-sided combat, with respect to the toughness and coronary heart of Yafai, and the scores mirrored that.
Rodriguez (40-6-1, 27 KO) had come up brief in massive fights overseas many occasions prior to now, although not for lack of excellent effort. On this one, he simply took it to the 32-year-old Yafai (9-1, 7 KO), who was attempting to quick monitor his strategy to an actual world title combat after profitable Olympic gold in Tokyo again in 2021.
Nobody ought to query Yafai’s coronary heart or dedication, as he took what may be a career-changing beating on this combat, and going ahead might be one thing he has to consider. Regardless of the Olympic pedigree, Yafai has by no means been the stereotype of an “Olympic gold medalist,” as he’s extra fighter than boxer and never all the time defensively accountable, to say the least.
Rodriguez examined that from the get-go, letting his fingers fly as he put some stress on Yafai, and Yafai was simply by no means in a position to actually get into the combat regardless of his finest efforts. He was down as soon as within the twelfth and remaining spherical.
“We felt it was the one strategy to win, like we virtually wanted to steamroll him tonight. That’s what my crew despatched me out to do,” Rodriguez stated. “I used to be going through an undefeated fighter, a star who was on the rise, and I needed to work doubly onerous. He was at house, as nicely. I used to be swimming in opposition to the present and we managed to get the job accomplished.”
“I feel he did very well to resist photographs,” Rodriguez stated of Yafai. “However he additionally was intelligent. The truth that he was in a position to seize maintain of me when he wanted to stopped me from knocking him out. Had he not accomplished that, had he not clinched a lot, I’d have knocked him out.”
The win may set Rodriguez, 32, up for a visit to Japan and a shot at unified WBC and WBA flyweight titleholder Kenshiro Teraji later this yr. Rodriguez has gone to Japan twice prior to now, shedding to Kazuto Ioka and Junto Nakatani.
“I’d actually look ahead to that. I need to say, Teraji, give me a name. We’ve got a date pending after your combat in July, let’s get it accomplished,” he stated.
Teraji will face Ricardo Sandoval on July 30 in Yokohama.
Conah Walker continued his scorching streak, retaining his British welterweight title with a seventh spherical knockout win over veteran Liam Taylor.
In a terrific motion combat, an actual battle, Taylor (28-3-1, 14 KO) gave all of it he had, however he was largely preventing the combat that Walker (16-3-1, 7 KO) wished, and it paid off for Conah, as Taylor was simply out of gasoline in spherical seven and there for the taking. Taylor went out swinging, although, and the 34-year-old has completely nothing to be ashamed of with that effort and the profession he’s had, he’s a battler and he put the work in, however Walker, 30, is simply on a incredible run of type at home stage proper now, actually understands what he’s and isn’t as a fighter, and works onerous to intensify the positives.
Peter McGrail dealt with his enterprise fairly properly in opposition to late substitute opponent Ionut Baluta, profitable a majority determination on scores of 95-95, 97-93, and 97-93, and it was the even card that was essentially the most questionable, not less than from the place I sit.
McGrail (12-1, 6 KO) has responded properly with 4 straight wins after his upset loss to Ja’Rico O’Quinn, who has accomplished completely nothing since aside from bail out of a deliberate rematch with McGrail. Baluta (17-6-1, 3 KO) has been a tricky nut to crack for a lot of fighters over time, and McGrail did an excellent job on this one, having initially been slated to face Shabaz Masoud. Hopefully that one does get rescheduled, as a result of style-wise I feel it may very well be actually attention-grabbing.
Pat Brown went to 2-0 (2 KO) with a straightforward third spherical stoppage of Croatia’s Ivan Duka (5-6, 3 KO). Brown figures to settle at cruiserweight when his profession will get severe, although for now he’s preventing with contract limits a bit north of 200 lbs. He’s a promising younger fighter.
Talking of, 18-year-old Tiah-Mai Ayton made an eye catching professional debut, as she stopped Sara Orszagi (3-7, 0 KO) within the third spherical of a one-sided combat.
The matchup was chosen to be what it was, however Ayton really is somebody to place in your radar in girls’s boxing, and she or he is maybe an early have a look at the form of younger fighter we’re going to see going professional increasingly more on the ladies’s facet of the game. We’re now 13 years faraway from girls’s boxing first hitting the Olympics, and we’re going to see much more of those younger girls who’ve been boxing since they have been babies, simply because it has been eternally in males’s boxing, as a result of the material of ladies’s boxing has modified with the Olympics and much higher highlight on the professional ranks after the Video games in London, Rio, and Tokyo. You’re going to see younger girls turning professional with way more class and pedigree than prior to now, much more frequently. It’s an thrilling factor, and it’s one thing that can proceed to occur within the years to come back.
