Elvis Rodriguez took a major step in his career on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The 27-year-old defending junior welterweight champion stopped Viktor Postol in the seventh round of a scheduled 10-round match on Frank Martin-Artem Harutyunyan at The Cosmopolitan.
The win is arguably the most important thing in Rodriguez’s career named Postol and how the match ended.
39-year-old Postol (31-5, 12 KOs) was competitive in the first innings, fighting after his jab and landing consistently. He also used his legs to make Rodriguez chase him.
By the fourth or fifth round, however, Rodriguez was delivering more and more punitive punches to both the head and torso that caused Postol to begin to fall.
Rodriguez (15-1-1, 13 KOs) knocked Postol down with a right hook in the final seconds of Round 6. Then, when the bell rang for the next round, he resumed where he had been. stopped and Postol couldn’t stop him defending himself.
That’s why referee Celestino Ruiz stopped the match to avoid Postol receiving an unnecessary penalty. Ukrainians do not complain.
Rodriguez has now won four straight games since he lost to Kenneth Sims Jr. by majority decision in 2021, cementing his position as a legitimate 147-pound competitor.
Meanwhile, Postol, who used to hold the 140-pound belt, has lost three fights in a row. He may have finished.
