Briton Yafai stunned by Rodriguez in first pro loss

Galal Yafai’s world title hopes were severely undermined by his shock defeat to Francisco Rodriguez Jr. in Birmingham’s final round.

The 32-year-old Olympic gold medalist battled the Mexican’s relentless pressure and punch volume in a high-tempo fight when they were first introduced to his home city.

Yafai had some successes and showed resilience, but he repeatedly suffered injuries, most notably in the seventh and ninth, before hitting the canvas in the dowel.

With scores of 119-108, 119-108, and 118-109, he maintained his composure until the very end.

Yafai loses his WBC interim title after his first defeat in ten professional fights.

The Tokyo 2020 champion now has a significant rebuilding task ahead of him after being predicted for a quick ascent to full world glory.

Rodriguez jumped out of the blocks, rattling the champion early and buckling Yafai’s legs with a sharp left uppercut. As Rodriguez’s quick hands remained on the mark throughout the initial stages, Yafai struggled to fully recover.

Yafai rallied in the fourth movement, landing clean with his backhand, but a cut above his left eye that had left him hampered him. Later in the fight, Rodriguez also received a cut.

The Birmingham fighter, who cruised past Sunny Edwards in November, appeared second-best throughout, his body language not inspiring the home crowd. He frequently dabbed at Rodriguez’s eye, and he struggled to match Rodriguez’s pace.

When Yafai was floored in the seventh inning, Rodriguez had his fired-up corner roaring as he sat down, despite being ruled a slip. The 31-year-old away fighter had already delivered a number of punches earlier in the round, though.

In the eighth round, Yafai showed strength and perseverance by striking a crisp straight right and uppercut. Before the ninth minute, Rodriguez continued to dominate, hurting Yafai once more as blood stains the referee’s shirt.

Yafai appeared to be becoming more and more content with his fate by the championship rounds. In the 12th grade, a clean left-right combination resulted in his drop. Before departing the ring without giving a post-fight interview, he raised a wry, deflated smile.

Although it appeared close to winning the Olympics and becoming a world champion against Japan’s unified champion Kenshiro Teraji, Yafai’s ambition to do so is now a distant memory.

In a fierce debut, Hungary’s Sara Orszagi defeated British star Tiah Mai Ayton, who had earlier made an impressive debut.

The 18-year-old super-bantamweight champion dominated Orszagi with crisp right hands from the start of the fight, earning the nickname “the next Katie Taylor” from Hearn.

In the third, she dropped her before cutting off the final blow with a flawless shot. A smiling Ayton ran back to her corner and poked her team’s tongue as the referee waved the fight off.

Ayton, a flawless 21-0 amateur, said, “Eddie has been bigging me up, so I had to show what I’m about.”

She was proclaimed a beaming Hearn. She was created for this. She has a unique talent.

Ivan Duka’s brutal second-round stoppage was the highlight of Matchroom’s strong night for Matchroom’s prospects, and Manchester’s 2024 Olympian Pat Brown won the match for his second professional debut.

Duka’s night came to an early halt with a sharp right hook, a thudding left hook, and a crisp left uppercut.

On July 5th, Brown, 25, will return to the ring in Manchester for two weeks.