Emmanuel Rodriguez began his return journey to titleholder status on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Rodriguez, of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, won a 10-round unanimous decision over Fernando Diaz, of Riverside, California, on scores of 97-92, 99-90 and 99-90 on the undercard of the Subriel Matias-Dalton Smith junior welterweight title fight.
Rodriguez is a former two-time IBF bantamweight titleholder whose title reigns were ended by Naoya Inoue in 2019 and Ryosuke Nishida in 2024. Now training with former titleholder Roman “Rocky” Martinez, Rodriguez, 33, made an early statement, landing a left hook that sent Diaz down in Round 1. Rodriguez was methodical in breaking down Diaz in his return to the sport after a 19-month hiatus.
In the fifth round, Rodriguez amplified the pressure on the 25-year-old Diaz, who showed his durability. Diaz then made a change: He made things more physical in Round 7, mauling Rodriguez and clearly winning the round. Rodriguez’s accuracy showed itself a round later, landing clean blows as Diaz continued to fight Rodriguez in close. Rodriguez was unable to accomplish his goal of stopping Diaz, which he had spoken about during pre-fight interviews, but still managed to seal the deal.
Rodriguez improved to 23-3 (13 KOs) and is aiming to fight for a world title in the near future. Diaz has lost two bouts in a row at the Barclays Center, falling to 16-7-1 (6 KOs).
Bantamweight Jeyvier Cintron, of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, survived a scare to knock out last-minute replacement Victor Sandoval, of Tijuana, Mexico, in the first round. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes and 40 seconds.
Cintron, 30, hit the canvas when the 28-year-old Sandoval caught him cold with a right-hand, left-hook combination. Cintron, who got up on wobbly legs, then landed in a spirited exchange that sent Sandoval to the canvas. Cintron recorded two more knockdowns and finished the fight with Sandoval in the corner, overpowered and collapsing from a flurry of blows. The referee halted the fight, which surely will be one of the more memorable rounds of the year, even though it happened just 10 days into 2026.
Cintron moved to 14-1 (7 KOs) with the win. Sandoval, who traditionally fights at junior bantamweight and took the fight on short notice, dropped to 38-6 (24 KOs) – though he might have earned some new fans with his performance.
Junior welterweight Nestor Bravo, of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, scored a highlight-reel second-round knockout over Pedro Campa of Hermosillo, Mexico. The time of the stoppage was 1 minute, 23 seconds.
Bravo landed a devastating left hook that the 33-year-old Campa walked into. Campa was out the minute he hit the canvas.
Bravo, 32, improved to 24-1 (17 KOs). With the win, he bounced back after his first career loss, to Xolisani Ndongeni in March.
Campa, 33, fell to 37-5-1 (25 KOs) and suffered the fourth knockout loss of his career, one of which occurred when Teofimo Lopez Jnr stopped him in 2022.
Featherweight Keith Colon, of Newark, New Jersey, won by seventh-round technical knockout over Alberto Guevara, of Tijuana. The time of stoppage was 1 minute, nine seconds.
Colon, 23, dropped Guevara twice in Round 5, both from body shots. He then dropped Guevara again in the sixth. Colon authored a final knockdown in Round 7 when a chopping right hand sent Guevara to the canvas and the referee stopped the bout.
Colon improved to 9-0 (9 KOs), while the 35-year-old Guevara fell to 28-9 (13 KOs). It is a notable win for Colon, as Guevara had previously faced titleholders such as Shakur Stevenson and Emmanuel Rodriguez earlier in his career.
Light heavyweight Arjan Iseni, of Staten Island, New York, earned a third-round technical knockout victory over Mario Bedolla, of Zamora, Mexico, when Bedolla’s corner called off the scheduled six-round bout in between rounds. Time of stoppage was three minutes.
Iseni, 23, is now 5-0 (5 KOs), while the 26-year-old Bedolla fell to 4-5 (3 KOs).
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
