Elvis Rodriguez demonstrated Saturday night what he meant when he said he’d show Joseph Adorno that the junior welterweight division is different.

Rodriguez knocked Adorno down for the first time in Adorno’s career in the seventh round, scored a questionable knockdown late in the 10th round and the Dominican southpaw won their 10-round, 140-pound bout by majority decision at The Armory in Minneapolis. Judges Scott Erickson (97-91) and Mike Fitzgerald (95-93) scored the opener of a “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader for Santo Domingo’s Rodriguez, but judge Patrick Morley scored it even, 94-94.

The 27-year-old Rodriguez (14-1-1, 12 KOs) has now won three straight fights since Chicago’s Kenneth Sims Jr. upset him by majority decision in their eight-rounder in May 2021 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. He ended an 11-month layoff Saturday night.

“I thought I had him once I landed that right hook, but he got up,” Rodriguez told Showtime’s Jim Gray in the ring. “He’s a warrior and a good fighter. … The seventh round was huge – that’s when I truly started to win this fight. I have to give credit to Adorno for being savvy and knowing how to keep his distance before then.”

The 23-year-old Adorno (17-2-2, 14 KOs) – an Allentown, Pennsylvania native who admitted beforehand that he is better suited to fight in the lightweight division – lost a 10-round decision at The Armory for the second time in 11 months. Another Dominican fighter, then-unbeaten lightweight contender Michel Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs), defeated Adorno by the same score, 97-93, on all three cards last March 26 at The Armory.

A disgusted Adorno questioned the scoring of his second defeat.

“I thought the judges were blind,” Adorno said. “I can’t get a win with these judges. I don’t know how you see the fight 97-91. I thought I won every round except the ones he dropped me.”

Rodriguez landed 21 more punches overall than Adorno, according to CompuBox’s unofficial statistics (90-of-316 to 69-of-320). CompuBox credited Rodriguez for landing more power punches (69-of-158 to 58-of-175) and jabs (21-of-158 to 11-of-145).

Adorno seemingly slipped on a wet spot on the canvas with just under 20 seconds to go in their bout, but referee Jon Schorle counted it as the second knockdown of their fight. Rodriguez did land a left hand during that sequence, though.

A counter right hand by Adorno landed approximately 1:20 into the 10th round. Barely 50 seconds into the 10th round, Adorno landed a left hook in the center of the ring.

Rodriguez’s right uppercut knocked Adorno into the ropes with 45 seconds remaining in the ninth round.

A sweeping right hook by Rodriguez landed just after the midway mark in the ninth round. A straight left by Rodriguez made Adorno retreat 1:15 into the ninth round.

A right hook by Rodriguez landed flush with about 10 seconds to go in the eighth round, but Adorno took it and fought back.

Rodriguez crushed Adorno with a right hook that briefly and awkwardly left him in a squatting position with about 1:20 to go in the seventh round. Rodriguez hit him with several other punches before Adorno turned toward the ropes and held on with one of his gloves.

Schorle was slow to move in and couldn’t prevent Rodriguez from hitting Adorno with more punches after the count should’ve began. That marked the first time Adorno was knocked down in his career.

Adorno demonstrated toughness and withstood Rodriguez’s onslaught to make it to the end of the seventh round.

The sixth round included more action than perhaps the first five rounds combined.

Rodriguez nailed Adorno with a counter right hook with just over 40 seconds to go in the sixth round.

Adorno drilled Rodriguez with a right hand in an exchange with 1:25 on the clock in the sixth round. That shot moved Rodriguez backward, but he tapped his jaw with his gloves and implored Adorno to come forward.

Rodriguez fell through the ropes with 2:05 to go in the sixth round, but Schorle ruled that an entanglement led to him going down.

Adorno’s left hook landed in an exchange just before the fifth round ended. Rodriguez’s counter right hook caught Adorno as he threw a right hand of his own after the halfway point of the fifth round.

Rodriguez’s right hook connected several seconds before the bell sounded to end the fourth round. Adorno lunged forward and landed a right hand with just under 25 seconds remaining in the fourth round.

A counter left hook by Adorno landed with approximately 1:10 to go in the fourth round.

Adorno landed a right hand up top just before the third round concluded. Adorno drilled Rodriguez with a left to the body 1:20 into the third round.

Adorno’s straight right landed with about 25 seconds on the clock in the second round, but Rodriguez snuck in a right-left combination a few seconds before the second round ended.

Rodriguez’s left to the body connected in an exchange with about 50 seconds remaining in the second round. Rodriguez’s straight left landed with 1:25 to go in the second round.

Fans grew restless by the halfway point of the first round, as Adorno and Rodriguez threw half-hearted jabs and felt each other out. Neither fighter landed a significant shot in those initial three minutes.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.