RAUL Curiel edged one step closer to a world welterweight title shot after stopping Victor Rodriguez on the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr undercard.
Uruguay’s Rodriguez was in essence the ideal opponent for Curiel, 16-0-1 (14 KOs), in this WBA title eliminator, which the Mexican won in the fourth round.
Rodriguez, flat-footed and slightly square on, was full of aggression and determination. For the first three sessions he looked to be an immovable object. Curiel proved, however, that with some distance he could tag Rodriguez easily and prove he was the better boxer.
For the first nine minutes, both men traded on the inside, but Curiel’s shots were cleaner and causing more damage. Rodriguez, 16-1-1 (9 KOs), marched forward throwing leather but occasionally he would appear wild and get nailed for his misses.
The Curiel uppercut looked like a way in for the 29-year-old, and in round three, we saw evidence of that. In round four, however, Curiel’s power proved devastating when the uppercut appeared to damage the right cheekbone of Rodriguez, who was down for the count with half the round left.
Cut, swollen and bloodied, Rodriguez fought on, but Curiel closed the show with dominance and accuracy. With his hands throwing and the punches flying, referee Michael Margado waved the contest off at 2.09 of the fourth.
“We want [WBA champion] Rolly [Romero] next and I got Raul Curiel by knockout,” Curiel’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, said afterwards.
