Nathan Rodriguez is a name the top fighters around 130 and 135 pounds had better start learning – even if Rodriguez isn’t yet willing to call them by name.
Rodriguez delivered an impressive performance against a game opponent in a quality fight Friday night, earning a clear unanimous decision over Bryan Mercado at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.
In his first fight at junior lightweight and just his third scheduled for more than six rounds, Rodriguez (16-0, 10 KOs) busted up Mercado (11-6-1, 6 KOs) over eight rounds to win 79-72 and 80-71 (twice) on the judges’ scorecards.
“He kept taking the punches and he kept walking forward, but I like that,” Rodriguez said in his post-fight interview on DAZN. “It tested me. More rounds of experience for me. I’m only learning and growing from here, so I’m grateful for all the rounds.”
Rodriguez, 20, of Pico Rivera, California, took control from the start, showing off a dizzying punch variety, snappy power and commanding ring generalship in the first round. Mercado, a 29-year-old Ecuadorian southpaw now living in Las Vegas, initially had few answers.
But in the second, Mercado came out pumping his jab and showing more aggression, perhaps in an effort to slow Rodriguez’s own offense. A couple of left hands from Mercado found a home, but by opening up, he allowed Rodriguez to begin timing him. Rodriguez answered back with a vicious right hand that bloodied Mercado’s face and possibly broke his nose.
Rodriguez walked Mercado down in the third, selecting his shots. Although Mercado countered, he was sucking air, stayed mostly in retreat and seemed to be slowly eroding under a wave of Rodriguez’s clean, powerful shots.
Yet Mercado pushed forward in the fourth, and again tried the offense-is-the-best-defense approach, with some success. He looked best when staying busy with his jab, and at one point he cornered Rodriguez and landed a thudding body shot. But when Mercado paused, Rodriguez took advantage, landing crisp, crunching shots that consistently sent Mercado backward.
In the sixth, Rodriguez continued to show his class, but for nearly every flurry he landed, the gritty Mercado answered back with his own two- and three-punch combination. Mercado’s best moments in the later rounds came when he was able to catch Rodriguez with his back on the ropes – and he had his share of them by letting his hands go and mixing up his punch selection with his opponent pinned.
But Rodriguez set himself apart in the final round, setting the pace with a power jab and, midway through the session, hammering his opponent with perhaps the best right hand of the fight. Mercado’s face was by now showing a heavy toll, and although he continued to engage, a Rodriguez left hook and another right hand prompted Mercado to grab on for the first clinch of the fight. Then, as Mercado attempted a last-ditch attack in the final seconds, he was caught by a left hook that slumped him to a knee. He clambered back to his feet, but the damage was very much done – and Rodriguez had punctuated the fight with a powerful exclamation point.
Rodriguez on Friday had the look of a possible future contender at and around the lightweight division, but he wasn’t ready to answer when asked who he’d like to call out in the division.
“I don’t want to call out anybody specifically,” he said. “I gotta grow myself little by little. I’m only 20 years old, so I’m learning. And in the future, when I’m in that top 10, top five, we can start calling out names.”
On the undercard, welterweight Miguel Gaona (5-0, 4 KOs) was clearly in no mood for overtime pay, as he dropped Daniel Evangelista Jr. (21-19-2, 17 KOs) twice in the opening round from body shots, the second time for the count. Time was 1:17.
Unbeaten Santos Ortega (9-0, 3 KOs) rode his length, reach and straight punching to victory over the game and perpetually onrushing Jose Saant (15-6-1, 5 KOs) in a six-round featherweight contest. Saant, whose nose was bloodied by Round 3, ground forward with determination throughout. But although Ortega had to work hard for his win, the scores of 60-54 across the board reflected his dominance.
In his pro debut, bantamweight Oscar Ochoa overcame the awkward challenge of experienced southpaw Rod Sarguilla (2-7, 1 KO) to get his professional career off to a winning start. The 20-year-old Ochoa took a unanimous four-round decision by scores of 40-36 (twice) and 39-37.
In a six-round junior welterweight contest to open the DAZN stream, San Diego’s Jaime Cuesta (10-0, 3 KOs) remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision win over Jenel Lausa. Scores were 59-54 across the board. It marked the fifth consecutive defeat for Lausa, who fell to 11-5-1 (7 KOs).
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