Francisco Rodriguez Jr. Upsets Galal Yafai In Bloody Good Battle

How many more times will Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn underestimate a determined Mexican warrior?

Francisco Rodriguez Jr. of Monterrey, Mexico (40-6-1, 27 KOs) bloodied and battered a brave but completely outgunned Galal Yafai of Birmingham (9-1, 7 KOs), dashing his hopes of a title fight in the flyweight division ahead.

Francisco Rodriguez Jr celebrates his upset victory in England. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing

Rodriguez Jr. scored a knockdown in the final round, winning a wide decision by scores of 119-108, 119-108, and 118-109.

The elated Rodriguez Jr. said of his victory, “Thanks to God we were able to achieve our objectives after so many defeats, so many times that we’ve fallen.”

Now the former two-division champion Rodriguez Jr. will get the opportunity to win a belt in a third division against the winner of the July 30 fight in Yokohama, Japan, between WBC and WBA World Flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji and Ricardo Rafael Sandoval of Rialto, California. That fight is scheduled for July 30 in Yokohama, Japan.

Rodriguez has fought all the top names. His six losses include highly competitive fights against Kazuko Ioka, Junto Nakatani, and Donnie Nietes. His single stoppage loss was to Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. Still, Rodriguez had been in many wars and although still just 32 years old, he was not given a significant chance of beating Yafai.

Amateur Excellence Loses to Mexican Pressure

Francisco Rodriguez Jr. dropped Galal Yafai in the final round of their fight Saturday. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing

But Yafai was never in the fight. Rodriguez Jr. took the British Olympic gold medal winner to the woodshed. He never let up, forcing Yalal back with nonstop punching. An accidental headbutt opened a cut over Yafai’s left eye, and it poured throughout the fight, covering Rodriguez as well, making for a gruesome-looking scene.

Yafai couldn’t find an answer for Rodriguez Jr.’s nonstop offense, the eye not making it easier. If he held out hope Rodriguez Jr. would surely slow down, he was disappointed as the Mexican didn’t stop coming. He landed to the body in classic Mexican style, followed by hooks and uppercuts.

“We felt it was the only way to win,” explained Rodriguez Jr. of his attack. “We felt like we almost needed to steamroll him tonight. That’s what my team sent me out to do. I thank my team for sending me out to do that because that’s why we got the result.”

Galal Yafai’s ambitions as a pro got him in trouble against Francisco Rodriguez Jr. Photo: Dave Thompson, Matchroom Boxing.

We discovered Yafai has a damn good chin, but on Saturday, the chin and his bravery in the face of such an onslaught was all he had. By the eighth round, his Olympic teammate Ben Whittaker, sitting ringside, was holding his head in his hands. It was perplexing why his corner allowed Yafai to continue the fight when he was losing round after round. The moral victory of making it to the bell wasn’t worth it, especially as Rodriguez Jr dropped Yafai hard.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn must have had a wicked sense of deja vu. Mauricio Lara? Andy Ruiz Jr.?

“He just wouldn’t be denied,” Hearn said of Rodriguez Jr. “As tough as Galal was, he just couldn’t overcome that pressure. You have to give unbelievable credit to Rodriguez. I thought he was incredible tonight.

“This guy is a former unified world champion,” continued Hearn. “He was relentless, and Galal couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. I’m so proud of him, the bravery he showed. He started to win a few rounds early, but then it was all one way. Rodriguez was absolutely relentless.”

Callum Walsh Wins Technical Decision After Cut Stops Fight

Callum Walsh suffered a nasty cut from a headbutt, forcing his fight to be stopped in the fifth round for a technical decision. Photo: 360 Boxing Promotions

In action on UFC Fight Pass from Chumash, California, Irish super welterweight Callum Walsh (14-0, 11 KOs) had a disappointing outing. A cut from an accidental headbutt in round two eventually forced the ringside physician to stop the fight at the start of the fifth round in Walsh’s fight against Elias Espadas of Mexico (23-7-1, 16 KOs). Although Walsh won every minute of the first four rounds for a technician decision, it wasn’t the outcome he wanted.

Walsh apologized to the fans. “There were some good fights tonight, so at least you got to see some action. I was very disappointed to win a fight like this. It was growing into a good fight. We were enjoying putting on a show for the fans. It’s not the best way to win.”

Callum Walsh had his fight well in hand until the cut forced the ringside physician to stop the action. Photo: 360 Boxing Promotions

Walsh said the fight was one-sided in his favor and going his way as he tried to continue, but admitted the cut was impacting his vision. “I still think I did enough, and I would have continued to do enough,” said Walsh. He called out Fernando Vargas Jr. who’s made noise about a bout with Walsh, mentioning the Canelo vs. Crawford undercard. But it’s doubtful the deep cut Walsh suffered will be healed by then.

“Sugar” Cain Sandoval continues to impress observers and thrill his fans. Photo: 360 Boxing Promotions

On the Hollywood Fight Nights card, super lightweight “Sugar” Cain Sandoval of Sacramento (16-0, 14 KOs) made up for the lack of excitement in the main event, decking Jonathan Jose Eniz of Argentina (36-23-1, 17 KOs) who took the fight on late notice in the second round for a thrilling if brief fight.  

In the co-main event, light heavyweight Umar Dzambekov of Russia (12-0, 8 KOs) got a stiff test from veteran Roamer Alexis Angulo of Colombia (28-4, 23 KOs). It looked like an upset might be in the works, but Dzambekov got away with a unanimous decision. The scorecards didn’t reflect the competitive nature of the bout – 80-72 and 79-73 for Dzambekov were downright delusional. The 77-75 scorecard was at least reasonable. Fans have a right to expect fair scores, and a lopsided win does nothing for the winning fighter.

Vernon Brown Takes Down Goy Yeritsyan

Vernon Brown pulled out a surprise victory with a seventh round knockdown and stoppage over heavy favorite Gor Yeritsyan. Photo: 360 Boxing Promotions

It was fortunate that challenger Vernon Brown from Chicago didn’t let his fight go to the scorecards. He was losing nearly every round on the scorecards to Gor Yeritsyan of Armenia. Until he wasn’t. Brown of Chicago (14-2-1, 10 KOs) caught Yeritsyan (20-2, 16 KOs) with a perfect left hook to the head, dropping the Armenian out of nowhere in the seventh round of their eight-round bout.

Yeritsyan beat the count from referee David Sullivan, but he was so rattled, he could do almost nothing in the ring except cover up and hold. Brown unloaded everything he had on Yeritsyan, as referee Sullivan kept shouting at Yeritsyan to “show me something.” He finally stepped in to end the fight at 2:43 of the seventh round.

Daniel “Chucky” Barrera had improved strength in his fight with Basilio Franco. Photo: 360 Boxing Promotions

Super flyweight Daniel “Chucky” Barrera of Eastvale, California (9-1-1, 4 KOs) took his newly muscled physique out for a spin, winning a wide decision over Basilio Franco of Mexico (10-4, 8 KOs) by scorecards of 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73.

Featherweight Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco of Los Angeles (5-0, 1 KO) got the best of Celene Roman of Mexico (6-4-1) by unanimous decision, 79-73 on all three scorecards.