David Benavidez has no shortage of HUGE fights on his radar. In an exclusive interview with BoxingScene, Jose Benavidez Sr. makes it clear that David still wants the biggest names at 175lbs including Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez has previously said those are two fights he wants to make as he pursues more titles and major challenges. But there’s another name that could make things very interesting: Andy Ruiz Jr. Jose discusses the possibility of an all-Mexican showdown between Benavidez and the former heavyweight champion, along with David’s plans across multiple divisions. And with a potential Jai Opetaia showdown also building after the pair came face-to-face following Opetaia’s latest victory, Benavidez has some massive options ahead.
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When is Galal Yafai vs. Francisco Rodriguez Jnr?
Galal Yafai vs. Francisco Rodriguez Jnr is on Saturday, June 21. The main broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. BST). A preliminary stream begins at 11:15 a.m. ET (4:15 p.m. BST).
What channel is Galal Yafai vs. Francisco Rodriguez Jnr?
Galal Yafai vs. Francisco Rodriguez Jnr will stream on DAZN.
Where is Galal Yafai vs. Francisco Rodriguez Jnr?
The fight is taking place at Resorts World Birmingham in Birmingham, England.
Who is Galal Yafai?
Yafai, 9-0 (7 KOs), is edging closer to a title shot. The flyweight won the vacant interim WBC belt last November with a sixth-round TKO of former titleholder Sunny Edwards.
The WBC ordered Yafai to defend against Rodriguez while its full titleholder, Kenshiro Teraji, was tied up – first with a unification bout against Seigo Yuri Akui in March, in which Teraji added the WBA belt after a phenomenal battle, and next in an upcoming defense on July 30 against Ricardo Sandoval.
Yafai is 32 years old but only turned pro in 2022. That’s because he remained in the amateur system following his early exit in the 2016 Games, where he was sent packing in his second fight of the light flyweight tournament. Yafai did much better in the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021 due to the pandemic), competing as a flyweight and winning the gold medal.
It would be fitting if he returned to Tokyo to challenge Teraji for the green and gold belt. But first comes Yafai’s second straight hometown main event at Resorts World Birmingham in England.
Who is Francisco Rodriguez Jnr?
Rodriguez, 39-6-1 (27 KOs), is a 32-year-old from Mexico who held a world title at 105lbs a decade ago and has been a perpetual contender since.
Six months after a September 2013 loss at flyweight to Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Rodriguez was soon down at strawweight, where he stopped Merlito Sabillo to capture the WBO belt. Following one successful defense, Rodriguez moved up to 108lbs and lost a unanimous decision to titleholder Donnie Nietes in July 2015, and he then received the short end of a split decision against Moises Fuentes.
Rodriguez subsequently went up in weight and racked up 15 straight victories, landing a September 2021 fight with Kazuto Ioka for a junior bantamweight title. Ioka won a unanimous decision. Two fights later, Rodriguez was clearly outpointed by Junto Nakatani in November 2022. He’s fought four times since, winning three and seeing his last performance – an eight-round decision over the 30-16-4 Josue Morales in December – overturned to a “no contest.” The details of that situation were not immediately available as this article went to press.
What other fights are on the undercard of Galal Yafai vs. Francisco Rodriguez Jnr?
In the co-feature, junior featherweight Peter McGrail, 11-1 (6 KOs), will face late replacement Ionut Baluta, 17-5-1 (3 KOs), after Shabaz Masoud pulled out with an injury. McGrail has won three in a row since his shocking fifth-round knockout loss to Ja'Rico O'Quinn in December 2023. Baluta is better than his record indicates and has given the U.K.’s domestic-level fighters some trouble.
Also on this show is a welterweight fight between Conah Walker, 15-3-1 (6 KOs), and Liam Taylor, 28-2-1 (14 KOs); the second pro fight of Olympian turned cruiserweight prospect Pat Brown; and several other developing boxers.
The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
