The Provisional Master of WBC Galal Yafai and President Francisco Rodriguez brought weight during Friday weighing for the 12-round headliner on Saturday, June 21, at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.
The Yafai-Rodriguez event will be shown live in Dazn at 14:00 et/11: 00 Ring walks for Heliner will be expected at 17:00 et/2: 00 Fri.
Galal Yafai weighs Rodriguez Fight
– galal yafai 111.6 vs. Francisco Rodriguez Jr.: 111.1 – main event -Peter McGrail 121.9 vs. Ionut Baluta: 121.9-CO-FATURE
Promoter Eddie Hearn is concerned about the inexperienced Olympian 2016 Yafai (9-0, 7 KO), which is approaching the former unified world champion, Francisco Rodriguez (39-6-1, 27 KO).
Yafai supple fears in the field of fittings
Despite his Olympic experience, Yafai was slightly matched during his three-year career and was led to capturing his transient WBC 112-Funt belt without fighting the killers. Like his brother, Kal Yafai, Galal looked uncomfortable when he faced opposition to the hint of power.
It has not yet been tailored to any of the great puncakes or demanding fighters. Saturday’s fight will take a look at how good Yafai is. He still won’t say anything, Francisco Rodriguez is not the best in the fly weight; That is why he was chosen. If he were a killer, he would probably be handed over by Eddie Hearn of Matchroom.
Tough opponents of Rodriguez and past losses
Although the 32 -year -old Mexican Rodriguez lost six times as a profession [x 2]Junto nutri, Kazuto Iok, Donnie Nietes and Moises Fuentes. Most of these fighters would probably not beat Galala Yafai without any problems.
“I think this is a very arduous fight. Galal did not like my question about Shining Edwards. The reality is, no matter how you want to look at it, we did not know when Shining Edwards entered this ring, whatever Galal says, Shining was not 100% mentally falling into this fight,” said Eddie Hearn Mathroom boxing About the recent victory of Galala Yafai over the former world champion Shining Edwards.
How do you expect Shining to be mentally? The guy was beaten and detained by Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in the ninth round in December 2023. Of course, 32-year-old Edwards, he would not shoot at all eight cylinders when he fought with galal yafai in November last year.
The real question is: why was Shining chosen as an opponent of Galala? If you know that Edwards was badly knocked out by Rodriguez’s “bam”, why, at the hell, he was chosen as an opponent of Yafai? We already know the answer. That Yafai looks artificial. You chose a fallen, recently beaten warrior and you apply this person as an opponent of galal. This is an adaptation 101 about how to create a false warrior.
“He [Yafai] He still took him into pieces and it was a brilliant performance, but I think he wants his flowers for this performance and should get them, but the way of thinking [Francisco] Rodriguez and the way of thinking Shining Edwards is completely different, entering this fight. I know these guys – said Hearn.
Eddie is right. Francis Rodriguez will not enter the ring, looking on depressed and already defeated against Yafai. He will come to fight with teeth and nails as long as it lasts. The only problem is his age. He is 32 years antique and has a long 15-year professional career.
Although he is at the same age as Galal and looks physically younger than him, he still has many kilometers on his meter to be with killers, such as Chocolatito Gonzalez, Donnie Nietes, Kazuto Iok and Moises Fuentes.
A decisive way to think about the fight of Rodriguez
“I work with many Mexican warriors. When a guy approaches me and says:” Thank you for the opportunity. I won’t disappoint you on Saturday evening. ” It’s Rodriguez. [Kazuto] York [in 2021 in Tokyo]. I thought it was very close, “said Hearn.
This means that Francisco Rodriguez will come to fight on Saturday. He understands the importance of this struggle for his career. If he defeats Yafai and looks like a diamond, it is possible that he could attract the attention of Turki Alalshikh and be chosen for one of his seasonal events in Riyadh and earn a lot of money.
“He was [two-time] world champion, and he is [Rodriguez] Da Yafai everything she can do. I believe that Yafai will pass – said Hearn.
Paulie Malignaggi has offered his reaction to a reported clash between Shakur Stevenson and Manny Pacquiaowhich could feature on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.
The all-British heavyweight showdown is expected to take place on December 11, headlining an event at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
That is, of course, if Fury and Joshua actually make it to the ring, as despite it being announced earlier this week, The Ring’s Mike Coppinger has since reported that their fight is in jeopardy.
Prior to that, it had emerged that an encounter between Stevenson and Pacquiao – between whom there is a near two-decade age gap – was being planned for the same night in Wales.
Should it come to fruition, this would represent Stevenson’s first outing since signing with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, who he joined after dethroning Teofimo Lopez with a unanimous decision victory in January.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, has not fought since his draw with Mario Barrios in July 2025, when he ended a near four-year layoff and almost claimed the WBC welterweight title.
Yet despite that surprisingly impressive performance, former world champion Malignaggi has emphasised on his YouTube channel that, against Stevenson, the 47-year-old would be facing an entirely different competitor.
“Manny Pacquiao-Shakur Stevenson has no place on this card; [it] has no place in big-time boxing. I am completely befuddled.
“[I’m] disappointed in Stevenson; [I’m] disappointed in Zuffa, obviously. These are ‘click bait’ type of fights. These are names that draw attention, so you can get people to watch. Then the fight’s a dud and all these casuals sit there complaining about boxing, telling you why boxing’s dead.”
Malignaggi went on to credit Pacquiao with being “competitive against the worst world champion I’ve ever seen in my life”, emphasising a considerable difference between Barrios and Stevenson.
World Boxing News provides a round-by-round scorecard as Johnny Fisher faces Michael Pirotton at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Fisher and Pirotton collide over ten rounds at heavyweight as Zuffa Boxing stages its latest card in the United Kingdom.
The Romford Bull returns to action with Pirotton standing in his way as the British heavyweight looks to continue his climb.
WBN provides a live scorecard of the contest below, plus live results throughout the event.
Fisher vs Pirotton Scorecard
Johnny Fisher vs Michael Pirotton
(Round-by-round scorecard will refresh every 2 mins)
Heavyweight Copper Box Arena, London 10×3
Round
Fisher
Pirotton
Round 1
10
9
Round 2
10
9
Round 3
9
10
Round 4
9
10
Round 5
10
9
Round 6
10
9
Round 7
10
9
Round 8
10
9
Round 9
10
9
Round 10
10
9
WBN Totals:
98
92
Official Result: FISHER MD – 98-92, 96-95, 95-95
Zuffa Boxing
Preview
Fisher faces Pirotton in the first fight of his lucrative deal with Dana White and Zuffa Boxing.
The Briton enters the contest with a 14-1 record, while Pirotton brings a 12-2 record into the Zuffa Boxing 11 bout.
The event is available live on Sky in the United Kingdom and Paramount+.
The Fisher vs Pirotton event unfolds alongside more live coverage on World Boxing News.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
World Boxing News provides results and updates as Johnny Fisher faces Michael Pirotton on Zuffa Boxing 11 at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Fisher returns to heavyweight action over ten rounds against Pirotton as part of Zuffa Boxing’s latest event in the United Kingdom.
Craig Richards faces Radivoje Kalajdzic at light heavyweight, while Lee Cutler takes on Louis Greene and Cesar Mateo Tapia faces Leo Ruiz at middleweight.
WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.
Results
All times are local BST.
23:41
Johnny Fisher defeated Michael Pirotton by majority decision after ten competitive heavyweight rounds at the Copper Box Arena. WBN scored the fight 98-92 for Fisherwhile the official judges returned scores of 98-92 and 96-95 for Fisher, with the third scoring it 95-95.
22:42
Radivoje Kalajdzic improved to 31-3 with a unanimous decision over Craig Richards, who dropped to 20-5-1 after a good ten-round scrap. Both men had their moments and hurt each other at times before “Hot Rod” got the verdict on the scorecards, which included knocking Richards down for the first time in his career.
21:43
Lee Cutler carded a unanimous decision win over Louis Greene in their ten-round middleweight clash. Judges scorecard 98-92 and 97-93 twice in favor on Cutler, who improves to 17-2.
20:52
Ahead of the three main bouts, Zuffa’s only female fighter, Kayla Allendefeated Edina Kiss via TKO in their super lightweight bout.
20:32
Leo Ruiz overcame Cesar Tapia over 10 rounds at middleweight, scoring a unanimous decision to move to 18-1 as Ruiz Tapia suffered a first loss.
19:29
Alex MacMillan moved to 5-0 with a second-round stoppage of Guillaume Azagier, who went down twice in the opening round and again before the finish at 0:32 of the second.
18:40
Rogelio Romero improved to 7-0 with a third-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Aurel Ignat, ending the cruiserweight contest at 2:12.
18:24
Alexis De la Cerda improved to 10-0 with a unanimous decision over Cain Lewis, taking the eight-round contest 80-72, 79-74 and 79-73.
17:42
Fred Pullen marked his professional debut with a four-round points victory over Leonardo Faretina, who was dropped in the second round.
Remaining Bouts
Johnny Fisher vs. Michael Pirotton — 10 rounds, heavyweight
Craig Richards vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic — 10 rounds, light heavyweight
TV Coverage
The event is available live on Sky in the United Kingdom and Paramount+.
Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
