Briton Yafai stunned by Rodriguez in first pro loss
Galal Yafai's world title ambitions suffered a major setback as the British flyweight was dropped in the final round in a shock points loss to Francisco Rodriguez Jr in Birmingham.
Fighting in his home city, the 32-year-old Olympic gold medallist was rocked early and struggled to handle the relentless pressure and punch volume from the Mexican in a high-tempo contest.
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Yafai had moments of success and showed resilience, but was repeatedly hurt, notably in the seventh and ninth, before hitting the canvas in the twelfth.
Although he beat the count, he was clinging on until the end and there was no dispute over the result with scores of 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109.
Yafai is defeated for the first time in 10 professional bouts and loses his WBC interim title.
Once tipped for a rapid ascent to full world honours, the Tokyo 2020 champion now faces a significant rebuilding job.
"[Rodriguez] was relentless tonight. Yafai couldn't have got into a worse start but I'm so proud of him," Yafai's promoter, Eddie Hearn, said.
Fast start from Rodriguez sets the tone
Rodriguez Jr is a former unified strawweight world champion and wins his 40th bout in 47 fights [Getty Images]
Rodriguez burst out of the blocks, rattling the champion early and buckling Yafai's legs with a sharp left uppercut. Yafai struggled to fully recover as Rodriguez's quick hands continued to find the mark through the early stages.
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Yafai rallied in the fourth, landing clean with his backhand, but was hampered by blood pouring from a cut above his left eye. Rodriguez also suffered a cut later in the fight.
The Birmingham fighter – who cruised past Sunny Edwards in November – looked second-best throughout, his body language offering little encouragement to the home crowd. He frequently dabbed at the eye and found it difficult to match Rodriguez's pace.
Rodriguez had his fired-up corner roaring in the seventh when Yafai was floored, although it was ruled a slip. The damage, however, had already been done earlier in the round, with the 31-year-old away fighter landing a flurry of punches.
A crisp straight right and uppercut connected in the eighth, with Yafai showing heart and toughness to stay in the fight. Both men were inspected by doctors before the ninth due to cuts, but it was Rodriguez who continued to dominate, hurting Yafai again as blood stained the referee's shirt.
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By the championship rounds, Yafai looked increasingly resigned to his fate. A clean left-right combination dropped him in the 12th. He rose with a wry, deflated smile before moments later leaving the ring without giving a post-fight interview.
A world title shot against Japan's unified champion Kenshiro Teraji had seemed within touching distance but instead Yafai's dream of becoming an Olympic and world champion is paused for now.
"He failed on the hurdle to elite level and that's sometimes what happens. He'd only had nine fights," Hearn added.
'The new Katie Taylor' stars on debut
Tiah Mai Ayton competed in kickboxing and Muay Thai before transitioning to boxing [Getty Images]
Earlier, Britain's Tiah Mai Ayton announced herself to the professional ranks in style by stopping Hungary's Sara Orszagi in a ferocious debut.
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Dubbed "the next Katie Taylor" by Hearn, the 18-year-old super-bantamweight rocked Orszagi with crisp right hands from the opening bell.
She dropped her in the third, then ended it seconds later with a clean shot. As the referee waved the fight off, a smiling Ayton strutted back to her corner, poking her tongue out to her team.
"Eddie's been bigging me up, so I had to show what I'm about," said Bristol's Ayton, a flawless 21-0 as an amateur.
A beaming Hearn added: "She's born for this. She's built for this. She's a special talent."
On a strong night for Matchroom's prospects, Manchester's 2024 Olympian Pat Brown secured his second professional win with a brutal second-round stoppage of Croatia's Ivan Duka.
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A sharp right hook to the body, followed by a thudding left hook and a crisp left uppercut brought an early end to Duka's night.
Brown, 25, will be back in the ring in just two weeks' time on 5 July in Manchester.
Also on the card, super-bantamweight Peter McGrail earned a hard-fought majority decision over Romania's Ionut Baluta, and British welterweight champion Conah Walker retained his belt with a seventh-round stoppage win over Liam Taylor.
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