By Jake Donovan

LAS VEGAS--

Vasyl Lomachenko opened the most expensive Pay-Per-View telecast in boxing history with a one-sided 9th round knockout of Gamalier Rodriguez in their featherweight belt Saturday evening at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The mismatch saw Lomachenko score knockdowns in round five and nine, the latter putting Rodriguez down for the count.

From the opening bell, it was clear that Lomachenko's job was to win with his supreme skill set, while Rodriguez' only hope was to force an ugly, physical affair. The contender from Puerto Rico did just that, clinching and throwing low blows while Lomachenko spent the first few rounds sizing up his opponent.

Already in an early hole on the scorecards, Rodriguez was docked a point in round three for excessive low blows. The deduction didn't seem to faze him or discourage him from continuing to bend the rules of the ring. 

Lomachenko further put the fight out of reach in flooring Rodriguez in round five. The blow wasn't enough to produce the threat of a knockout - yet - but was a clear indicator that the direction of the fight was never going to change. 

Rodriguez was hit with another point deduction for low blows in round eight but it eventually proved moot. Lomachenko came out firing early in round nine, scoring his second knockdown of the night courtesy of a body shot. Rodriguez remained on bended knee, staring down referee Robert Byrd in taking the full ten count.

The official time was 0:50 of round nine.

Lomachenko - a two-time Olympic Gold medalist for his native Ukraine - advances to 4-1 (2KOs). The win serves as the second defense of the featherweight he won last June, in just his third pro fight. 

Rodriguez sees a 17-fight win streak come to a close as he falls to 25-4-2. 

The bout served in supporting capacity to the pound-for-pound showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox