Misael Rodriguez (finally) gets the best of Omar Chavez in the ring

At the end of a hectic fight week, during which the fight itself almost didn’t happen, super middleweight Misael Rodriguez emerged victorious over Mexican countryman and rival Omar Chavez, the second son of legendary fighter Julio Cesar Chavez Snr.

In the end, Rodriguez, a 2016 Mexican Olympic bronze medalist, won a unanimous decision over Chavez at Arena Potosi in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, earning scores of 96-93, 97-93 and 98-92 from the judges.

The fight was overshadowed by another weigh-in stand-off between the fighters and their teams. Chavez, who arrived late Friday to hit the scale, initially missed weight. But he got there after being allowed an extra hour to cut down. He also was required to weigh in the next morning at no more than 16.8lbs over the168lbs super middleweight limit. Although he arrived 90 minutes late for that weigh-in, the show was allowed to go on. That’s more than can be said of their original fight date last October, when Rodriguez refused to fight Chavez after he failed to meet the weight requirement for the bout and the ensuing drama elevated interest in Saturday’s fight – especially in Mexico – exponentially.

Rodriguez, 30, who trains with Robert Garcia in Riverside, California, campaigns at middleweight but took this bout at a 169lbs catchweight. Despite all the bad blood during the fight build-up, the first few rounds inside the ring were quite reserved. Rodriguez boxed from the outside while Chavez, 35, followed him around the ring. The second round saw Chavez throw big power punches, though he also let out a big sigh before the round ended as Rodriguez became aggressive with 10 seconds left in the round.

Rodriguez never deviated from moving around the ring and peppering Chavez with jabs, while Chavez pressed forward with no adjustments – though Chavez targeted Rodriguez body effectively when he did throw punches. The most entertaining round came in the eighth, when the fighters exchanged punches as dueling fans in the crowd made for a festive atmosphere.

Rodriguez pressed forward in the final two rounds, though the size of Chavez was evident as Rodriguez’s punches had little impact in breaking him down. As the final bell rang, both men thrust their gloves high in the air.

Rodriguez, 15-0 (7 KOs), of Chihuahua, Mexico, fought for the first time since 2023, and has yet to fight outside Mexico this decade.

Chavez dropped to 48-9-1 (28 KOs).

Lucas Ketelle took an unconventional path to boxing, eventually finding his stride in gyms and media. For the past decade, he has hosted the “Lukie Boxing” podcast, filmed training camps for fighters like Arnold Barboza Jnr, Mikey Garcia and Caleb Plant, and worked with top professionals such as Mike Bazzel. Ketelle is also an author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for ProBox TV, BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @LukieBoxing.