RESULTS: RODRIGUESZ FIGHTS THROUGH INJURY, WINS GOLD; STEVENSON DOMINATES IN LIGHTWEIGHT DEBUT; MENDOZA SHOCKS FUNDORA; TAPALES STUNS AKHMADALIEV & MORE

By: Jay Calderon‍

On Saturday at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, and live on ESPN, World Jr. Flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji stopped late-replacement foe Anthony Olascuaga.

Considering the circumstances, Olascuaga performed well, but things wrapped up fairly quickly when Teraji stepped on the gas. In the ninth frame, a combination of shots dropped Olascuaga, forcing the referee to step in and halt the action.

Time was :58 of the round. Teraji improved to 21-1 with 13KOs, while Olascuaga dropped to 5-1 with the loss.

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At the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas, and live on DAZN, undefeated former Jr. Bantamweight titlist Jesse Rodriguez picked up a vacant portion fo the Flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Cristian Gonzalez.

For the most part, the harder, more telling blows of Rodriguez were winning him the frames and secured him the victory. However, he had to fight through a post-fight confirmed fractured jaw that will require surgery.

In the end, Rodriguez won via score cards of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. Rodriguez improved to 18-0 with the victory, while Gonzalez was dropped to 15-2 with the defeat.

In the co-featured bout of the evening, Marlon Tapales shocked many by defeating Murodjon Akhmadaliev, winning two versions of the 122 pound title in the process.

Tapales got off to a very impressive start, using timing and well placed power shots to throw the previously-unbeaten Akhmadaliev off his game. While "MJ" finished the fighter the stronger of the two, it was not in time to change the outcome of the contest.

Scores were 118-100 and 115-112 for Tapales with the third in favor of Akhmadaliev by 115-113, awarding Tapales the split decision win. Tapales improved to 37-3 with the win, while "MJ" dipped to 11-1 with his first career loss. Akhmadaliev was more than a 5-1 favorite in many sports books.

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In Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center, and live on ESPN, former world Jr. Lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson made his Lightweight debut, stopping previously unbeaten Shuichiro Yoshino in six frames.

The contest was never in doubt, with Stevenson too fast, too precise and ultimately too good for his Japanese counterpart. Yoshino was down in the second as well as the fourth and was finally pulled from the lopsided affair by the referee new before the halfway mark.

Time was 1:35 in the sixth. Stevenson improved to 20-0 with 10KOs, as Yoshino dipped to 16-1 with the loss.

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In the upset of the weekend, at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, and live on Showtime, Brian Mendoza stopped previously-undefeated Sebastian Fundora in the seventh round of action.

Mendoza had little success in the first half of the fights, being outworked and mostly beaten to the punch by the ever-rangy Fundora for most of the fight. However, in the seventh, none of that mattered. A left by Mendoza stopped Fundora in his tracks, and he was badly flattened by the following right hand, left hook combination. Fundora attempted to get to his feet, but his legs seemingly wouldn't respond and he was counted out.

Time of the stoppage was :39 of the seventh. With the loss, Fundora dropped to 20-1-1, while Mendoza improved to 22-2 with 16KOs. Mendoza was as much as an 11-1 underdog.

To check out the rest of the recent results, you can click here.

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