Emmanuel “Salserito” Rodriguez had hoped to turn his career around in his headlining fight Saturday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Instead, it was the globe-trotting Connor Adaway who walked away with his career-best win.
Adaway, of Plymouth, England, outworked the popular fighter to an eight-round unanimous decision at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, winning by scores of 80-72 and 79-73 (twice), moving his record to 9-2-1 (3 KOs).
Rodriguez, 32, of Newark, New Jersey, dropped to 15-3 (8 KOs), after losing his second straight.
From the outset, Adaway, 27, had the edge in activity over Rodriguez, who was moving up to 122lbs after fighting most of his career as a bantamweight. While Rodriguez’s superior athleticism was evident in spots, it was Adaway who was putting together his punches with greater frequency.
With the defeat, Rodriguez now has difficult decisions to make, having lost decisively in his previous bout 10 months ago – a similar decision loss to Khalid Twaiti. The victory snaps a two-fight winless streak for Adaway, who drew against unbeaten Fazil Juma in June in the Netherlands and lost a close but unanimous decision to Majid Karimi Poshtiri in Thailand in February.
Rodriguez-Adaway headlined a card by R&B Promotions, which is already planning to host its fourth event at the venue on November 22, this time at the much bigger Mark Etess Arena.
In a six-round junior welterweight bout, “Dangerous” Danny Gonzalez and Rani Jalomo settled for a split draw, with one judge scoring it 57-57, while the other two cards had it 59-55 for one fighter and 58-56 for the other – though the ring announcer didn’t specify which. Gonzalez, 6-1-1 (6 KOs), of Iselin, New Jersey, had the power edge and landed strong shots throughout, but Jalomo, 7-0-1 (4 KOs), of Chicago, was able to have success by firing quick flurries.
Justin Penaranda, who had been one of New Jersey’s most celebrated amateurs in recent years, overcame the toughest challenge so far of his young career, gutting out a majority decision win over MMA pro Sebastian Ruiz in a four-round junior welterweight bout. Penaranda, 4-0 (3 KOs), won the fight on two scorecards, 39-37, while the third had it even at 38-38.
Penaranda, a Bayonne, New Jersey, resident who won Golden Gloves and Diamond Gloves titles, made good use of his experience advantage early on to land clean power shots against the tough Ruiz.
Ruiz, who was making his boxing debut (but had eight MMA fights to his credit), came on strong in the third but was outworked in the fourth.
Penaranda, trained by Bobby Rooney Jnr, weighed in at a career-high 141¾lbs, which is nearly six pounds over his previous career high.
Christopher Houston, who won the New York Ring Masters Championships last year at 132lbs, scored a breakout win, outpointing the previously unbeaten Muhammad Noori in a four-round featherweight bout. Two judges had it 39-37, while the third had it 40-36, all for Houston, 2-0, of Brooklyn, New York.
The 25-year-old Houston, who is trained by Yoel Judah, made the most of his nearly 7ins height advantage, keeping the shorter Noori, now 3-1 (1 KO), at bay and landing combinations at long range. Noori, of Woodbridge, New Jersey, was able to get in and out to land shots in the second round but was swamped by the activity and aggression of Houston in the fourth.
Philadelphia's Richard Johnson, 7-0 (3 KOs), scored the best win of his early career, stopping British fighter Taylor Greig, 4-3 (1 KO), at 2 minutes, 1 second of the second round.
The junior middleweight bout was the second six-rounder for Johnson, 20, while the 27-year-old Greig, of Derby, England, was fighting for the first time since 2023.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
