Oleksandr Usyk (9-0, 9KO) sent Pedro Rodriguez (22-2, 19KO) to the canvas in the seventh round with a flurry of left and right hooks, coupled with crosses as the Cuban fell to his knees before the referee counted to ten for the knockout on Dec. 12 in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Inter-Continental cruiserweight champion’s hands
and footwork were too quick for the sluggish yet dangerous Rodriguez who relied
on overhead crosses and the occasional hook, usually in the last minute of each
round in vein attempts to make a difference.
Usyk first knocked down the Cuban boxer with at least four right-left hooks in the sixth with 14 seconds remaining. The latter managed to get up as the round winded down.
It was the Crimean-raised fighter’s fourth title defense
although Rodriguez couldn’t have earned the belt because he weighed in 6 pounds
over the 200-pound limit on Dec. 11.
Rodriguez even had the audacity to showboat in the third,
exposing himself by spreading his arms outward while beckoning Usyk. At first the Cuban shrugged off his opponent’s annoying, yet effective, jabs
and body blows to the ribs and belly in the first three rounds.
The referee raises WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title-holder Oleksandr Usyk’s (right) arm as he declares him the winner after he knocked out Pedro Rodriguez in the seventh round in Kyiv on Dec. 12. (Courtesy)
But Usyk was just getting started. As the rounds progressed
and advanced, Usyk’s short-range combinations of hooks, uppercuts and crosses
became more frequent.
Already towards the end of the third round, Usyk began to visibly
hurt Rodriguez, connecting with a right-left cross combination, followed by
another left cross.
Usyk was still frustrating Rodriguez with stiff right jabs in
the fifth when he picked up the tempo. He proceeded to connect with a flurry and
variety of combinations: left uppercut followed by left cross; left-right
hooks; body blow-jab-hook; and a smashing left hook to finish the round.
By this time the crowd was revving and sensed the end for Rodriguez was nearing.
After dominating in the sixth round that culminated in a knock down, Usyk finished his opponent off in the first minute of the seventh with a
series of left overhead crosses and hooks from which the Cuban couldn’t
recover.
The full fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Pedro Rodriguez on Dec. 12 at Sport Palace in Kyiv.
Kyiv Post editor Mark
Rachkevych can be reached [email protected].
