Welterweights Delvin Rodriguez (23-2-2, 14KO) and Isaac Hlatshwayo (28-1-1, 10KO) battled to a 12 round draw on Monday night in Hlatshwayo's home country of South Africa. At stake in the bout was an IBF #1 ranking and future date with IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey.
From the opening bell it was an entertaining fight as Hlatshwayo looked to press the action while the sharp shooting Rodriguez was content on firing off crisp combinations from the outside.
It was obvious that Rodriguez was the much superior boxer as he would throw beautiful three and four punch combinations from the outside and then tie Hlatshwayo up before the South African could fire back.
By the middle rounds the fight had become a classic boxer vs. brawler bout with Hlatshwayo taking four shots just to land one. While Rodriguez was the more accurate of the two, Hlatshwayo's wide shots brought loud reaction from his hometown crowd.
