Rodriguez burst out of the blocks, rattling the champion early and buckling Yafai’s legs with a pointy left uppercut. Yafai struggled to totally get well as Rodriguez’s fast fingers continued to search out the mark by the early phases.
Yafai rallied within the fourth, touchdown clear together with his backhand, however was hampered by blood pouring from a lower above his left eye. Rodriguez additionally suffered a lower later within the battle.
The Birmingham fighter – who cruised previous Sunny Edwards in November – regarded second-best all through, his physique language providing little encouragement to the house crowd. He ceaselessly dabbed on the eye and located it troublesome to match Rodriguez’s tempo.
Rodriguez had his fired-up nook roaring within the seventh when Yafai was floored, though it was dominated a slip. The harm, nevertheless, had already been performed earlier within the spherical, with the 31-year-old away fighter touchdown a flurry of punches.
A crisp straight proper and uppercut related within the eighth, with Yafai displaying coronary heart and toughness to remain within the battle. Each males have been inspected by medical doctors earlier than the ninth as a result of cuts, but it surely was Rodriguez who continued to dominate, hurting Yafai once more as blood stained the referee’s shirt.
By the championship rounds, Yafai regarded more and more resigned to his destiny. A clear left-right mixture dropped him within the twelfth. He rose with a wry, deflated smile earlier than moments later leaving the ring with out giving a post-fight interview.
A world title shot towards Japan’s unified champion Kenshiro Teraji had appeared inside touching distance however as an alternative Yafai’s dream of changing into an Olympic and world champion is paused for now.
“He failed on the hurdle to elite degree and that is typically what occurs. He’d solely had 9 fights,” Hearn added.
