Francisco Rodriguez Jr dominates Galal Yafai during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Francisco Rodriguez Jr. pulled off an upset on June 21 when he faced Galal Yafai at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England. Making his UK debut, the former unified minimumweight champion from Mexico defeated the local favorite by decision, sending him to the canvas along the way.
The judges scored the 12-round fight 119-108, 119-108, and 118-109. In the final round, Rodriguez dropped Yafai with a barrage of punches. During the fight, both fighters suffered cuts over their left eye due to a head clash.
With the victory by unanimous decision, 32-year-old Francisco Rodriguez Jr. improved to 40-6-1, 27 KOs and claimed the interim WBC flyweight title. 32-year-old southpaw Galal Yafai dropped to 9-1, 7 KOs, suffering his first defeat as a pro and losing the belt.
In the co-feature, Conah Walker (16-3-1, 7 KOs) stopped Liam Taylor (28-3-1, 14 KOs) in the seventh round. With the win, Walker retained his British welterweight title.
Among other Yafai vs Rodriguez results, Peter McGrail (12-1, 6 KOs) of Liverpool defeated Ionut Baluta (17-6-1, 3 KOs) of Romania by majority decision at super bantamweight. After 10 rounds, the scores were 97-93, 97-93, and 95-95.
Plus, Manchester’s Pat Brown (2-0, 2 KOs) dropped and stopped Ivan Duka (5-6, 3 KOs) of Croatia in the second round at cruiserweight. In the main card opener, Bristol’s Tiah-Mai Ayton (1-0, 1 KO) made a successful pro boxing debut, defeating Hungary’s Sara Orszagi (2-7) by TKO in the third round at super bantamweight.
Galal Yafai punches Francisco Rodriguez Jr during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingGalal Yafai and Francisco Rodriguez Jr during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingFrancisco Rodriguez Jr punches Galal Yafai during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingFrancisco Rodriguez Jr knocks down Galal Yafai during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingFrancisco Rodriguez Jr takes victory over Galal Yafai during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingFrancisco Rodriguez Jr celebrates victory over Galal Yafai during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingConah Walker punches Liam Taylor during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingConah Walker celebrates victory over Liam Taylor during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingPeter McGrail during his bout against Ionut Baluta at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingPeter McGrail knocks down Ionut Baluta during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingPat Brown and Ivan Duka during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingPat Brown victorious over Ivan Duka during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingTiah-Mai Ayton punches Sara Orszagi during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom BoxingTiah-Mai Ayton after her victory over Sara Orszagi during their bout at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, June 21, 2025 | Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Among the prelims, Aaron Bowen (6-0, 4 KOs) defeated Mykola Vovk (15-8, 9 KOs) of Ukraine via fourth-round TKO at middleweight. Also, Giorgio Visioli (8-0, 6 KOs) defeated Elias Federico Duguet (7-2-1, 2 KOs) of Argentina by an 80-71 points decision at super featherweight.
In another super featherweight bout, Ibraheem Sulaimaan (8-0, 4 KOs) defeated Brian Phillips (12-5, 3 KOs) via an 80-72 points decision. Kicking off the action, Hamza Uddin (5-0, 2 KOs) stopped Argentina’s Leandro Jose Blanc (8-3, 3 KOs) in the seventh round at flyweight.
