Elvis Rodriguez did what only one previous opponent accomplished against Cameron Krael.
The heavily hyped junior welterweight prospect became just the second foe to stop Krael inside the distance when knocked him out in the third round Friday night at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. The Dominican Republic’s Rodriguez dropped Krael with a right hook, which ended their scheduled eight-rounder 53 seconds into the third round on the Emanuel Navarrete-Ruben Villa undercard.
The 24-year-old Rodriguez upped his record to 10-0-1 and recorded his 10th knockout. Rodriguez, who is trained by Freddie Roach, is 4-0 in Top Rank’s “Bubble” since July 2 and has won each of those bouts by knockout.
Las Vegas’ Krael (17-17-3, 4 KOs) lost by knockout for the first time since WBA interim welterweight champ Jamal James beat him by eighth-round knockout in November 2014.
Rodriguez’s right hooked knocked Krael to the canvas 39 seconds into the third round. Krael got to one knee, but he didn’t attempt to get up as Tony Weeks counted to 10.
Rodriguez buzzed Krael with a right hook about 10 seconds before the shot that finished their fight.
Rodriguez rocked Krael with a right hook that landed with just under a minute remaining in the second round. Rodriguez’s right to Krael’s body later in the second round made Krael move away from him as well.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
