Saturday night’s main event between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is creating historic buzz in the sports world, but it’s not the only fight scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Vasyl Lomachenko versus Gamalier Rodriguez and Leo Santa Cruz versus Jose Cayetano were the televised bouts on the undercard Saturday.
Lomachenko earned a knockout victory in a dominant performance, which wasn’t a surprising result given his stellar amateur record. The Ukrainian threw a nasty right uppercut in Round 9 and Rodriguez was left stunned. He was down on one knee and decided not to stand up before the 10-count from the referee.
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Lomachenko also knocked down Rodriguez in the seventh round.
The next step for Lomachenko, who’s one of boxing’s brightest young stars, is to fight better, more well-known opponents. In the meantime, he’s clearly proven his readiness for the big stage. Lomachenko also keeps his WBO Featherweight Championship as a result of Saturday’s decision.
Santa Cruz emerged victorious with a unanimous decision over Cayetano (100-90 final score). He landed 402 punches to Cayetano’s 148, including a 268-126 advantage in power punches landed.
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Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
