Rodriguez dropped Perella and controlled the exchanges at Zuffa Boxing 6 in Las Vegas
Julian Rodriguez (26-1, 15 KOs) handed James Perella the first loss of his professional career Sunday night with a dominant 10-round decision at Zuffa Boxing 6 in Las Vegas. After adjusting to Perella’s size and reach early, Rodriguez took over with counters, inside work, and cleaner combinations.
Perella (21-1, 15 KOs) came in with a clear physical edge at welterweight, standing taller with the longer reach and trying to keep Rodriguez at the end of straight shots early. Rodriguez read it quickly. Once he started slipping inside the jab and stepping around Perella’s lead hand, the fight tilted hard in his favor.
Rodriguez began breaking him down in the second round with short combinations and counters during exchanges. He kept edging Perella backward, forcing him toward the ropes and making him fight at a pace he never looked comfortable handling.
The fourth round widened the separation. Rodriguez timed a hard left hand that dropped Perella cleanly, then jumped on him with combinations along the ropes after he beat the count. Perella survived, but the fight never settled back into his control afterward.
Rodriguez dictated the distance from there. He mixed body shots with straight punches upstairs, stayed compact through the exchanges, and kept beating Perella to the shot whenever the younger fighter tried to open up. Perella showed toughness and kept trying to box at range, but too much of the fight was spent reacting instead of setting the terms himself.
Scores of 100-89, 98-91, and 98-91 reflected Rodriguez’s control over the second half of the fight. His patience, timing, and inside work steadily broke Perella down and handed the unbeaten prospect his first defeat.
Andreas Katzourakis (17-0, 11 KOs) stayed unbeaten with a ten-round decision over Misael Rodriguez (16-1, 8 KOs). Katzourakis controlled the early rounds with body work and compact combinations inside, backing Rodriguez up repeatedly before Rodriguez rallied late with cleaner counters. Katzourakis kept the harder punches flowing and held the pace where he wanted it.
Suray Mahmutovic (9-1-1, 6 KOs) edged Raphael Monny (9-1, 3 KOs) by split decision in a close light heavyweight fight. Monny boxed well early behind movement and straight shots, but Mahmutovic kept pressing, worked downstairs, and forced more exchanges during the later rounds.
Ivan Ortiz (13-0-2, 9 KOs) handed Justin Viloria (12-1, 8 KOs) his first loss over eight rounds at lightweight. Viloria boxed sharply from the southpaw stance early, but Ortiz kept digging to the body and forcing inside exchanges until the pace swung his way.
Heavyweight Da’Mazion Vanhouter (12-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Raphael Murphy (18-2, 14 KOs) in 1:06 of the opening round. Vanhouter hurt Murphy with body shots, trapped him along the ropes, and unloaded combinations until Tony Weeks stepped in.
Alexis Alvarado (10-1-1, 5 KOs) outworked Emiliano Cardenas (10-1, 4 KOs) over six rounds to hand the unbeaten bantamweight his first defeat. Alvarado kept steady pressure on him and closed stronger over the second half of the fight.
Rakhmatullo Boymatov (1-0, 1 KO) made a strong professional start by stopping Caleb Hall (6-3-1, 4 KOs) in the first round. Boymatov landed a left hook that hurt Hall early, then trapped him along the ropes and forced the stoppage at 2:42.