Jesse Rodríguez beat Great Britain’s Sunny Edwards by ninth-round technical knockout to merge the IBF and WBO flyweight champions on Saturday night at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Rodríguez, the 23-year-old from San Antonio nicknamed Bam, dropped Edwards for the very first time in his profession with a straight left hand in the ninth that saw the London male pitch forward to his knees, his face on the canvas. Edwards beat the count and made it to the bell, however did not leave his stool for the 10th round. The American included Edwards’ IBF title at 112lbs to his own WBO strap, ending up being the very first unified champ in boxing’s flyweight department because Brian Viloria in 2012. “I had a great deal of inspiration entering into this battle understanding I have a child en route, I’m so pleased today,” stated Rodriguez, who enhanced to 19-0 with 12 knockouts. “I’m simply pleased that I got the win, duration,” he stated. “That was my primary objective. Throughout camp I understood I had what it took to knock him out or stop him and that’s what I did, so (that) simply made the win that much better.” Edwards, who was up to 20-1 with 4 wins inside the range, had cuts around both eyes by the time the action-packed bout was stopped. Sunny Edwards of Great Britain is torn down in the ninth round. Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesThe cut over his left eye, he stated, made it difficult to avoid Rodriguez’s lead hand. “I believe it was a terrific battle, however, yeah, the much better guy won today,” stated Edwards, who had actually made 4 effective defenses of the IBF title he won with a choice over South Africa’s Moruti Mthalane in 2021. Rodriguez had actually declared the uninhabited WBO title in April with a choice over Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez. He had actually moved down in weight after declaring the World Boxing Council very flyweight world title with a triumph over Carlos Cuadros in February of 2022, a title he safeguarded two times. “A great deal of individuals stated my profession was overvalued, that I wasn’t that great, now I revealed what I can do,” Rodríguez stated. “Edwards is a hell of a fighter, he was champ for a factor and tonight I handled to stop him.”
Jesse Rodriguez stops Sunny Edwards after 9 to merge flyweight titles
