Galal Yafai’s Loss To Francisco Rodriguez Jr.: “Boxed The Wrong Fight,” Blames Adam Smith

Commentator Adam Smith blames WBC interim flyweight champion Galal Yafai’s 12-round unanimous decision loss to Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (40-6-1, 27 KOs) by boxing “the wrong fight” last Saturday night at the bp pulse LIVE Arena, in Birmingham, England.

(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)

Yafai’s “Wrong Fight” Choice

Smith didn’t say what kind of fight the 2020 Olympic gold medalist Yafai (9-1, 7 KOs) should have fought because he tried slugging with Rodriguez Jr. That didn’t work. The combination punching and the high output from the Mexican was too much for Yafai, 32, to deal with.

The scores were 119-108, 119-108, and 118-109. Rodriguez Jr. dropped Yafai in the twelfth round and had him on the verge of a knockout. What saved Galal was the holding. In the final, he wasn’t trying to win. He was in survival mode.

Galal used contact holding to neutralize Francisco’s output, but it wasn’t enough. Rodriguez Jr. was still overwhelming him with punches once he was free. His accuracy with his high volume was unreal.

Final Punch Stats

• Francisco Rodriguez: 575 landed out of 1089 shots for a 53% connect rate
• Galal Yafai: 230 landed out of 795 for a 34% connect rate

What’s impressive is that most of the punches that Rodriguez Jr. threw were power shots. He landed 528 of 969 punches for a 54% connect rate. It’s no wonder that Yafai was dropped in the 12th round.

Smith: Fight Was “Hard to Watch”

“There was a point where it could have been stopped. It was hard to watch,” said commentator Adam Smith to Pro Boxing Fans about Galal Yafai’s fight against Francisco Rodriguez Jr. last Saturday night. “He rolled back the years. He was sensational,” said Smith about Rodriguez.

The fight looked like it could have been stopped in the 11th round because Yafai was taking a beating and was hurt. Again, what kept him from being knocked out was all the clinching. Galal held excessively and should have been warned by the referee.

“Eddie [Hearn] said, ‘Absolutely relentless performance from Rodriguez. Galal sort of boxed the wrong fight and got off to a bad start.’ He found out what it was like to box at the elite level., and he’s got time to rebuild at 32. So much credit for Galal Yafai,” said Adam.

There was nothing Yafai could have done to give himself a chance of winning because he couldn’t match Rodriguez’s output. His punches were arguably harder than Rodriguez Jr’s, but there wasn’t enough.

“I didn’t think he would. I thought [trainer] Rob might throw the towel in or the referee might,” said Smith. “I thought the last few minutes were tough to watch. It’s tough. Yafai is an excellent fighter, an Olympic gold medalist. This is what happens.”

The fight could have been stopped in rounds 10, 11, or 12 because Yafai was hurt in each of those rounds. Yafai’s corner left him out there.

“You step up to the elite level and have an acid test. To me, it looked like a very good amateur with a very good hardened pro,” said Smith.