A loud Saturday-night crowd packed BP Pulse LIVE Arena in Birmingham for Matchroom’s latest hometown showcase, eager to see Olympic gold-medallist Galal Yafai defend his interim flyweight strap, local brawler Conah Walker in a welterweight war, and a deep lineup of British prospects looking to stay unbeaten.
Francisco “Chihuas” Rodríguez Jr. never stopped coming forward, switching stances, and whacking Yafai’s body and cut-swollen face. An accidental head clash opened Yafai’s left brow in round 4, Rodríguez piled up punches as the blood flowed, and a crisp five-shot burst in round 12 dropped the champion to seal cards of 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109.
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Conah Walker was behind on the cards but kept grinding until a looping left hook in round 7 dropped Lion Taylor to his knees; the challenger stayed down, giving Walker a comeback TKO at 0:45 and preserving his British welterweight title.
Southpaw Peter McGrail started fast against Ionut Baluta, but a cut from a forearm in round 6 and Baluta’s late rally made it tight; one card read 95-95, the other two 97-93 for McGrail, who edged a majority decision over ten.
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Mike “The Rebel” Perez battered Steven Ward down twice in round 8 and finished him 49 seconds into round 9 to lift the vacant WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight belt, while Nelson “Albanian Eagle” Hysa stayed perfect, flooring Patrick Korte in each of the first two rounds for a stoppage at 2:05.
Earlier, Sam Gilley and Jonas Onyenani fought to a referee’s 76-76 draw, Umar Khan scored a knockdown and beat Moises Garcia 79-72, and Olympic bronze medallist Lewis Richardson pitched a 60-54 shut-out on his pro debut. Finishing the undercard, Ibraheem Sulaimaan, Giorgio Visioli, Aaron Bowen, Hamza Uddin, heavyweight Pat Brown and super-fly debutant Tiah Mai Ayton all recorded clear wins, with Bowen, Uddin, Brown and Ayton notching inside-the-distance victories.
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