Elvis Rodriguez Stops Juan Velasco in 7!
Super lightweight fighter Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez (13-1-1, 12 KO’s) secured his second win, by knockout, since suffering his sole professional defeat to Kenneth Simms Jr. The Dominican Kid managed this by stopping Juan “El Pitbull” Velasco (23-3, 14 KO’s) in the seventh round of their showdown.
The loss effectively snapped a three-fight win streak that Velasco was enjoying after suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Regis Prograis and Mario Barrios. This latest loss has left him stranded in a bleak professional conundrum. It will be interesting to see what move Rodriguez makes next. The Dominican Kid enjoyed an extremely busy 2020 having staged five bouts and then three in 2021. Now let’s see what he can do with the remainder of 2022.
ONE-WAY ACTION
Following a rather forgettable and uneventful first round, Rodriguez and Velasco began to step up the pace in the second. While still no one particular punch landed that was overtly memorable, both boxers increased their output and began throwing with wicked intent. Despite Velasco being the fighter coming forward, it was Rodriguez who was landing the better offense.
Yet, the tide took a notable change in the fourth. Here the Dominican Kid opened the round with a crisp right hook. He would then proceed to nail him with the same shot throughout the period. Along with the money punch, Rodriguez sank in a number of quality body shots. The situation became increasingly dire for Velasco in the fifth as Rodriguez’s accuracy continued to grow. Not only was he also now on the back foot, El Pitbull picked up cut over his left eye.
After performing like a glorified punching bag with gloves, Velasco was put on the canvas at the top of the seventh after eating a partially blocked right hook. El Pitbull beat the count only to be floored two more times. On the third trip to the canvas, the roughed up fighter sat down like a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons and essentially waited to be counted out. All in all this was a good showcase performance for the Dominican Kid.
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By: Bakari Simpson
