Rodriguez & Akmadaliev Claim Stoppages as Yafai Wins Decision
In what was an outstanding battle at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, it was Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) who was too much for Sunny Edwards (20-1, 4 KOs), stopping him in nine rounds to unify the WBO and IBF flyweight world titles.
It was a war. Due to swelling under the left eye in round two, Edwards elected to stand and trade. But Sunny found plenty of success landing sharp counterpunches against Rodriguez. Bam landed his pound of flesh as well. Through four rounds, it was an even fight. But in the middle rounds, Rodriguez took over. He charged forward, unloading relentless power shots on Sunny. By the end of round eight, Edwards was taking a beating.
With seconds to go in round nine, a picture-perfect straight left hand put Edwards down. Sunny got up to his feet but looked spent. Between rounds nine and ten, the corner of Edwards wisely said ‘no more’ and called the fight.
In a showcase fight, Rodriguez shined and put on a stellar performance. Afterward, he announced that he planned to go back to the junior bantamweight and called for a match against the reigning WBC champion at 115, Juan Francisco Estrada.
MURODJON AKHMADALIEV BATTERS KEVIN GONZALEZ
At the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, former unified junior featherweight champion Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev (12-1, 8 KOs) scored an eighth-round stoppage over Kevin Gonzalez (26-1-1, 13 KOs).
After a cautious opening round for Akhmadaliev, he went to work. MJ scored early and often with the jab and shots to the head and body of his opponent. At the end of round five, Gonzalez was fighting with what looked like a broken nose.
In the opening minute of the sixth, a beautiful left uppercut from Akhmadaliev put Gonzalez down on one knee. An accumulation of punches from the former champ produced a second knockdown later in that round.
With thirty seconds left in the eighth, Gonzalez went down for a third time courtesy of another uppercut. Sensing the end was near, Akhmadaliev went on an all-out fistic assault until the referee had seen enough and waved the fight off.
Akhmadaliev is on a mission to regain the junior featherweight title. After the contest, he said he wants the winner of the December 26 undisputed showdown between unified 122-pound champions Naoya Inoue and Marlon Tapales.
GALAL YAFAI CLAIMS A WIN OVER ROCCO SANTOMAURO
Galal Yafai (6-0, 4 KOs) kept his unbeaten record intact with a ten-round unanimous decision victory (99-91, 98-93, 97-93) over Rocco Santomauro (22-3, 6 KOs) at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Yafai was in control from the onset. Using his speed and footwork, the 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist created angles to land punches to the head and body of his opponent in the early rounds. Santomauro kept applying steady pressure, but could not cut off the ring efficiently to get to Yafai’s body.
The middle and late rounds consisted of Yafai darting in and out to score with “punches in bunches”. Santomauro would occasionally land with a few single right-hand counterpunches on the chin. However, in the end, Yafai’s accumulation of shots was far too much and proved the difference.
Following the win, Yafai said he wants a world title shot in 2024 and is targeting a fight with the reigning WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez.
