Khalid Yafai vs Jonathan Rodriguez Preview November 18th
Former WBA Super Flyweight Champion Khalid Yafai of England is back in the ring this Saturday, November 18th in Inglewood, California when he takes on Jonathan Rodriguez of Puerto Rico for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Bantamweight Belt. The 10-round bout can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Yafai last fought in November, 2022 when he beat Jerald Paclar by 10-round unanimous-decision. In his previous outing in February, 2020 he lost his title by way of ninth-round TKO to former WBC World Champ Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez. Rodriguez last saw action in April when he beat Marvin Solano by a six-round unanimous decision.
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Yafai vs Rodriguez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jonathan Rodriguez +125
- Khalid Yafai -155
My Pick
The 34-year-old Yafai hails from Birmingham and enters the ring with a mark of 27-1 with 15 Kos. He won the vacant WBA Super Flyweight Title in December, 2016 by beating Luis Concepcion by unanimous decision in Manchester. Concepcion came in over weight so the title was on the line for Yafai only. He then defended it against Suguru Muranak and Sho Ishida by unanimous decisions as well as stopping David Carmona after seven rounds. He then took unanimous decisions over Israel Gonzalez and Norbelto Jiminez before losing to Chocolatito. He’s also beaten Dixon Flores and Jason Cunningham.
Yafai was a fine amateur who fought for his homeland at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and captured a silver medal as a flyweight at the European Amateur Boxing Championships in Moscow in 2010. He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64.5 inch reach. He’s not the most powerful junior bantamweight out as 55.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but and his hasn’t stopped anybody since halting Carmona in 2018. Still, his power needs to be respected and shouldn’t be underestimated. He turned pro in 2012 and has 187 rounds under his belt since.
Rodriguez is just 24 years old and fights put of the USA. He climbs through the ropes with a mark of 16-1-1 with 6 Ko’s and has 75 rounds of pro experience under his belt since making his debut in 2018 following his amateur career. He measures the same as Yafai at 5-feet-54-inches tall, but unfortunately there’s no reach information for him. Rodriguez carries around below-average power as 37.5 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage.
Just seven of Rodriguez’s 16 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record and he lost to one of them as Manuel Flores stopped him in the fifth round in 2020. His lone draw was a six-round split decision with Roberto Pucheta in 2021. His biggest win came in June of this year when he stopped Brian Cannady in the second round to win the vacant WBC USA Silver Bantamweight Title. He also beat Wilner Soto by six-round unanimous decision three months earlier.
Prediction…
This is just the fifth fight in five years for Yafai and the inactivity definitely won’t do him any good. However he has the experience and enough power to come out on top against Rodriguez as long as he lets his hands go. If he doesn’t there’s a possibility that he gets outboxed. I’m going with Yafai in this one though.
Yafai has experience on his side.
Play: Yafai -155 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jonathan Rodriguez betting • Khalid Yafai betting