Antonio Vargas came out with the win against Jonathan Rodriguez live from Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, February 24. The pair battled it out on the card topped by Edgar Berlanga vs Padraig McCrory.
The scheduled for 12 rounds WBA bantamweight title eliminator didn’t go the full distance. At the end of the opening round Rodriguez knocked Vargas down with a big right hand. In the second round, the latter paid back forcing his opponent to take a knee with a flurry of punches.
In the third round, Vargas was deducted two points for hitting late after the knockdown. At the end of the eighth round he dropped Rodriguez once again.
The fight was stopped prior to the start of the ninth round. Rodriguez’s corner called it a day.
With the victory via eighth-round RTD, Antonio Vargas improved to 18-1, 10 KOs. The 19-year-old native of Houston, Texas became the mandatory challenger for the WBA bantamweight title.
Jonathan Rodriguez dropped to 17-2-1, 7 KOs. The Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico’s 25-year-old got his eight-fight winning streak snapped.
Get Berlanga vs McCrory full fight card results.