Rosario Drops, Stops Hernandez In 9th Round Of Their Rematch

By Keith Idec

A year after their draw, Jeison Rosario left no doubt Saturday night.

The Dominican Republic’s Rosario consistently hit Marcos Hernandez with the heavier shots in their scheduled 10-round rematch and stopped Hernandez in the ninth round at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rosario’s victory aired on FS1 as part of the Anthony Dirrell-Avni Yildirim undercard.

Rosario (18-1-1, 13 KOs) dropped Hernandez (13-2-1, 3 KOs) in the ninth round and stopped him soon thereafter. Hernandez, of Fresno, California, fell to his knees in frustration after referee Celestino Ruiz stopped their fight at 2:45 of the ninth round, with Hernandez still standing.

Hernandez, 25, and Rosario, 23, battled to a six-round split draw 53 weeks before Saturday night, last February 17 in El Paso, Texas.

A sweeping left hook by Rosario dumped Hernandez to the seat of his trunks with 50 seconds to go in the ninth round. Hernandez got up and told Ruiz he wanted to continue.

The game Hernandez didn’t last much longer.

Rosario landed the harder shots during the seventh round and eighth rounds. Hernandez hit Rosario at times, too, but he mostly fought off his back foot because he didn’t have as much on his power punches as the opponent pressuring him.

By the end of the eighth round, Hernandez bled from his mouth.

Rosario’s right hand caught Hernandez at about the 45-second mark of the sixth round and stopped him from punching. Hernandez and Rosario traded hard shots toward the end of the sixth round, but neither fighter could hurt his opponent.

With about 45 seconds to go in the fourth round, Hernandez and Rosario traded power punches while they were in a corner. Neither fighter appeared bothered by any of the hard shots his opponent landed.

Rosario hit Hernandez with a low left hand about 15 seconds into the third round. Hernandez took several seconds to recover, but the action resumed pretty quickly.

Following a first round that lacked action, Hernandez backed up Rosario with a combination of punches to Rosario’s head and body about 25 seconds into the second round. Hernandez’s right hand later in the round made Hernandez retreat.

In the bout immediately preceding the Hernandez-Rosario rematch, welterweight Bryant Perrella comfortably out-boxed Breidis Prescott in their eight-rounder.

The 29-year-old Perrella (16-2, 13 KOs), a southpaw from Fort Myers, Florida, used his jab and movement to out-point Colombia’s Prescott (31-16, 22 KOs) by big margins in this largely nondescript contest. Perrella won seven rounds on two scorecards (79-73, 79-73) and six rounds on a third card (78-74).

Earlier Saturday night, lightweight Austin Dulay stopped Yardley Cruz in the third round of a scheduled eight-rounder.

The 23-year-old Dulay (13-1, 10 KOs), of Nashville, Tennessee, knocked down Mexico’s Cruz (24-13, 14 KOs) with a straight left hand in the first round. Cruz overcame that trouble, but Dulay landed a combination while Cruz was backed into a corner during the third round and their fight was stopped while Cruz was still standing.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.