PHOENIX – The death of a fighter after an undercard loss last month was the result of a drug overdose and not from an injury suffered in the ring, according to an autopsy report acquired by BoxingScene.
Pedro Rodriguez, a 37-year-old junior featherweight from Durango, Mexico, was found dead early July 6, hours after he lost a six-round bout the prior night on a fight card staged in north Phoenix.
According to an autopsy conducted by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office, the primary cause of death was “multiple drug toxicity,” including “fentanyl, ethanol and 7-amino-clonazepam.’’
Rodriguez was found dead in his hotel room by friends and police in the early morning hours after losing a unanimous decision to Phillip Vella, of Las Vegas, on July 5.
People who witnessed the fight from ringside told BoxingScene that they never observed that Rodriguez, 15-26-3 (7 KOs), was seriously hurt. Vella, 4-0 (2 KOs), never knocked down Rodriguez, who left the ring and the arena under his own power.
Hotel staff broke into Rodriguez’s room the next morning when he did not answer the door for friends trying to awaken him for a ride to the airport and a 4 a.m. flight home.
Vella responded to the news of Rodriguez’s death, writing on Instagram that he was “truly heartbroken to find out the news. Thankful to have shared the ring with Pedro for six rounds.
“My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Rest easy, champion.’’
