Rodriguez Drills Rangel To Lead Night of KOs In Fajardo

By Jake Donovan

Emmanuel 'Manny' Rodriguez remained unbeaten after knocking out Alex Rangel inside of seven rounds Saturday evening in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. 

The bout was largely a boxing clinic for Vega Baja's Rodriguez, who shares a hometown with Roman 'Rocky' Martinez (as well as this writer's in-laws). Rangel was game throughout the night, and even believed to have scored a knockdown late in round five, but the sequence was ruled a slip.

There was no questioning the fight-ending knockout sequence. Rodriguez was silky smooth all evening before his mean streak kicked in. A five-punch combination, including three successive clean shots upstairs, put Rangel on the canvas. The referee declared the visiting brawler from Mexico unfit to continue, waiving off the contest without a count.

Rodriguez rolls to 13-0 (9KOs) with the win. While he has been eight rounds twice (both times going to the scorecards), Saturday's peformance marked the deepest he has been forced to go into a fight in order to obtain a knockout.

It was well worth the effort, as the 23-year old bantamweight—having recently celebrated a birthday earlier this month—has now stopped each of his past four opponents. 

The win capped a night loaded with knockouts. The only bout on the 10-fight card to go to the scorecards saw middleweight prospect Enrique Collazo (6-0-1, 5KOs) score a six-round shutout win over Henry Beckford (3-4). Oddly enough, it marked the first time that Collazo has been extended the distance since his pro debut, which ended in a draw. 

Top flyweight contender McWilliams Arroyo—who along with twin brother and reigning super flyweight titlist McJoe Arroyo served on the 2008 Puerto Rico Olympic boxing team—was originally slated to appear in supporting capacity, in what would have been his first fight in his hometown since 2011. However, he was pulled from the show when the opportunity arose to instead pursue a flyweight title eliminator with Johnriel Casimero. 

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