By Jake Donovan
Victor Castro survived a major scare, overcoming an opening round knockdown and a rocky start to defeat Robert Rodriguez by split decision Saturday evening at Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. 


The bout was hardly just another hometown showcase for Castro, whose entire career thus far has taken place in the greater Phoenix area. Rodriguez boasted nearly 300 amateur fights and in the pro ranks has been in with the likes of Mickey Bey and Andrey Klimov. 

While Rodriguez' biggest fights as a pro have come in losses, the Colorado native certainly had upset on the mind as he came flying off of his stool to immediately take the fight to Castro. The strategy played well early, sending shockwaves through the crowd when Castro was rocked and dropped hard to the canvas. 

The 22-year old showed poise in shaking off the damage and looking to punch his way back into the fight, but it would be a couple of rounds before he would get to that point.

By round three, Castro assumed full control of the fight. Rodriguez never wilted, but took hard blows in rounds three and four, including a sequence where a shot to the chin left him attempting to clinch before falling to the canvas. The referee ruled the sequence a slip, which - given the close nature of the final scores - could have proven costly. 

Castro didn't rest on his laurels, intensifying his attack to close the fight strong and thus preserve his unbeaten record. 

With the win, Castro improves to 13-0 (6KOs); Rodriguez falls to 7-5 (3KOs), with all five defeats coming in his last seven contests, a stretch that also includes a no-contest in March '13 when Mickey Bey - whom originally stopped Rodriguez in three rounds - tested positive for extraordinarily high levels of testosterone. 

Castro is trained by former two-time lineal super bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez. 

Emilio Garcia continues to enjoy a bounceback campaign in 2014. The 23-year old super bantamweight prospect picked up his second straight win with a six-round decision over Juan Benavides. 

Scores were 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 in favor of Garcia (9-1-1, 2KOs), who has now won twice in less than two months after having suffered the first loss of his career last summer. Benavides dips to 4-5-1 (1KOs), now winless in his last five starts.

The show streamed live on promoter Iron Boy Promotion's website.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox