Veteran Francisco Rodriguez Jr scored an upset in Birmingham, England, and did it in model, dominating Galal Yafai to win the interim WBC flyweight title on extensive, unanimous choice scores.
Rodriguez gained the struggle on tallies of 118-109, 119-108, and 119-108, with no choose mysteriously seeing it nearer than the remainder of the world or something. This was a purely one-sided struggle, with respect to the toughness and coronary heart of Yafai, and the scores mirrored that.
Rodriguez (40-6-1, 27 KO) had come up quick in large fights overseas many instances previously, although not for lack of fine effort. On this one, he simply took it to the 32-year-old Yafai (9-1, 7 KO), who was making an attempt to quick monitor his technique to an actual world title struggle after successful 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 struggle, and going ahead will likely 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 strain on Yafai, and Yafai was simply by no means in a position to actually get into the struggle regardless of his greatest efforts. He was down as soon as within the twelfth and closing spherical.
“We felt it was the one technique to win, like we nearly wanted to steamroll him tonight. That’s what my workforce despatched me out to do,” Rodriguez stated. “I used to be dealing with an undefeated fighter, a star who was on the rise, and I needed to work doubly onerous. He was at dwelling, as nicely. I used to be swimming in opposition to the present and we managed to get the job achieved.”
“I believe he did very well to face up to 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 achieved 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 12 months. Rodriguez has gone to Japan twice previously, shedding to Kazuto Ioka and Junto Nakatani.
“I’d actually look ahead to that. I wish to say, Teraji, give me a name. Now we have a date pending after your struggle in July, let’s get it achieved,” he stated.
Teraji will face Ricardo Sandoval on July 30 in Yokohama.
Conah Walker continued his sizzling streak, retaining his British welterweight title with a seventh spherical knockout win over veteran Liam Taylor.
In a terrific motion struggle, an actual battle, Taylor (28-3-1, 14 KO) gave all of it he had, however he was largely combating the struggle that Walker (16-3-1, 7 KO) needed, and it paid off for Conah, as Taylor was simply out of fuel 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 unbelievable 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, successful a majority choice on scores of 95-95, 97-93, and 97-93, and it was the even card that was probably the most questionable, a minimum of 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 achieved completely nothing since aside from bail out of a deliberate rematch with McGrail. Baluta (17-6-1, 3 KO) has been a troublesome nut to crack for a lot of fighters over time, and McGrail did 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 believe it may very well be actually fascinating.
Pat Brown went to 2-0 (2 KO) with a simple 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 combating 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 attention grabbing professional debut, as she stopped Sara Orszagi (3-7, 0 KO) within the third spherical of a one-sided struggle.
The matchup was chosen to be what it was, however Ayton actually is somebody to place in your radar in girls’s boxing, and she or he is maybe an early have a look at the type of younger fighter we’re going to see going professional increasingly more on the ladies’s aspect 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 young children, simply because it has been perpetually in males’s boxing, as a result of the material of girls’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 rather more class and pedigree than previously, much more usually. It’s an thrilling factor, and it’s one thing that can proceed to occur within the years to come back.
