Jose Francisco Rodríguez Tamayo (born 10 July 1993) is a Mexican

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He is a former unified mini flyweight world champion, having held the WBO title from March to December 2014 and the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

title from August to October 2014. Rodríguez Jr. is also a one-time

light flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920, ...

title challenger, having fought for the WBO title in 2015, and one-time super flyweight title challenger, having fought for the WBO title in 2021.

Professional career

Unified mini flyweight champion

Rodríguez Jr. vs. Sabillo

His 16–2 record earned Rodríguez Jr. the right to challenge the undefeated WBO mini flyweight champion Merlito Sabillo in what was the Sabillo's third title defense. The title bout was scheduled as the main event of a card which took place at the

Monterrey Arena Arena Monterrey is an indoor arena in Monterrey, Mexico. It is primarily used for shows, concerts and indoor sports like indoor soccer, arena football and basketball. It used to be the home arena of the Monterrey Fury indoor soccer team and the ...

Monterrey, Mexico Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

on 22 March 2014. He won the fight by a tenth-round technical knockout. Rodríguez Jr. knocked Sabillo down with a flurry of punches as early as the second round and continued to dominate from that point on. Sabillo's head trainer Edito Villamor opted to throw in the towel at the 1:50 minute of the tenth round, having deemed his fighter to have taken too much punishment.

Rodríguez Jr. vs. Takayama

Rodríguez Jr. faced the

mini flyweight champion

Katsunari Takayama is a Japanese professional boxer. He is a five-time mini-flyweight world champion, having held the WBC title in 2005, the IBF title twice between 2013 and 2015, and the WBO title twice between 2014 and 2017. He retired as a professional in 20 ...

in a unification bout in his next professional appearance. The contest took place in the same venue as his previous title fight, the Monterrey Arena in Monterrey, Mexico, on 9 August 2014. It was broadcast by

TV Azteca TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two nationa ...

domestically and by

beIN Sports beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...

in the United States. Rodríguez Jr. won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 119–108, 116–111 and 115–112. He scored the sole knockdown of the fight in the third round, flooring Takayama with a left hook. The fight was later named the "2014 Fight of the Year" by Bleacher Report, Boxing Scene, and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

. Rodríguez Jr. vacated the IBF title on 1 October 2014 and the WBO title on 15 December 2014. His promoters claimed that he had vacated the title as was struggling to meet the 105-lbs mark, saying: "...basically, since he was struggling to make 105 pounds, he’s looking to make his mark at the higher weight now".

Light flyweight and flyweight

Rodríguez Jr. vs. Fajardo

After vacating his IBF title, but before vacating the WBO title as well, Rodríguez Jr. moved up to flyweight in order to face the unheralded Jomar Fajardo. The bout was scheduled for the undercard of "Pinoy Pride 28", which was headlined by a

title bout between

Donnie Nietes Donnie Liboon Nietes (born May 12, 1982) is a Filipino professional boxer. He is a world champion in four weight-classes, having previously held the WBO mini-flyweight title from 2007 to 2011; the WBO and ''The Ring'' magazine junior-flywei ...

and Carlos Velarde, and which took place at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino in

Cebu City, Philippines Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Acco ...

on 15 November 2014. Fajardo stepped in as a late notice replacement for Virgilio Silvano. Despite coming into the fight as a significant favorite, Rodríguez failed to win the bout, as it ended in a split decision draw. One judge scored the fight 96–94 for Fajardo, the second judge scored it 98–92 for Rodríguez, while the third judge scored it as an even 95–95 draw. An immediate rematch was booked for 31 January 2015. It took place at the Palenque de la Feria in

Tuxtla Gutiérrez Tuxtla Gutiérrez (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, the most developed and populated in the state. A busy government, commercial and servic ...

, Mexico. Rodríguez Jr. won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 100–92, 97–92 and 99–90.

Rodríguez Jr. vs. Nietes

On 3 June 2015, it was revealed that Rodríguez Jr. would challenge the reigning WBO and '' The Ring''

champion

. The fight headlined a

and

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...

broadcast card, that took place on 11 July 2015 in Nietes' native

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Nietes retained the titles by unanimous decision, with scores of 118–110, 119–109 and 115–113.

Super flyweight

Title run

After failing to capture the WBO flyweight title, Rodríguez Jr. moved up to super flyweight. He faced the former WBO light flyweight champion Ramón García Hirales, in his first fight at super flyweight, on 20 February 2016. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 99–89, 99–88 and 96–91. Rodríguez knocked Hirales down twice in the seventh round and once in the eight round, although he was unable to finish him. Rodríguez Jr. next faced Johnny Michel Garcia in a tune-up fight on 23 July 2016. He won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout. He was leading on all three of the judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage, with scores of 50–45, 50–45 and 49–46. Rodríguez Jr. was booked to face Crison Omayao on 29 October 2016, at the Palenque Vicente Fernandez in Gomez Palacio, Mexico. He knocked Omayao down once in the fourth round, before knocking him out in the fifth round. Rodríguez Jr. faced Hajime Nagai on 4 February 2017, in his first fight of the year. He won the fight by technical decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 50–43 in his favor. The fight was stopped at the 1:22 minute mark of the fifth round, as Nagai was unable to continue due to an eye swelling and watering caused by an accidental elbow strike. Rodríguez Jr. was next booked to face the undefeated Elias Joaquino on 12 August 2017. He won the fight by a seventh-round knockout, after having knocked Joaquino down once in the seventh round. He was leading at the time of the stoppage, with all three judges' having scored the fight 70–61 in his favor. Rodríguez Jr. faced the 60-fight veteran Ronald Ramos on 16 December 2017. He had a great start to the fight, knocking Ramos in the very first round, and won the fight by a sixth-round technical knockout. Rodríguez Jr. faced the former Japanese super flyweight champion and one time WBO Asia Pacific and

OPBF The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) is a professional boxing organization that sanctions title fights in the Asian and Pacific region. History Oriental boxing started in the Philippines in 1946 after the Spanish-American War. While ...

title challenger Yohei Tobe on 9 June 2018, for the vacant WBC Latino Silver Super Flyweight belt. He knocked Tobe down twice by the 2:33 minute mark of the second round, prompting Tobe's corner to throw in the towel. Rodríguez Jr. faced the former WBA

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

champion and one-time

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

super flyweight title challenger

Hernán Márquez Hernán Márquez Beltrán (born September 4, 1988), commonly known by his nickname "Tyson" Márquez, is a Mexican professional boxer. He held the WBA flyweight title from 2011 to 2012, and has challenged once for the WBA interim super flyweigh ...

on 20 October 2018. He won the fight by a third-round technical knockout. Rodríguez knocked Márquez with a short left cross 30 seconds into the third round, which didn't leave his opponent visibly hurt as he was able to beat the ten-count. Rodríguez floored Márquez down with another left cross in the final minute of the round, which left him unable to rise from the canvas. Referee Florentino Lopez decided to wave the fight off at the 2:10 minute mark, without administering the full ten-count. Rodríguez Jr. faced fellow former mini flyweight champion Oswaldo Novoa on 6 April 2019. He won the fight by a narrow unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 95–94 in his favor. Rodríguez Jr. faced the undefeated David Barreto on 1 June 2019, who entered the fight on a 12-fight winning streak. He won the fight by a second-round stoppage, as Barreto's corner chose to retire their fighter at the end of the round. Following a third-round stoppage of William Riera on 26 October 2019, Rodríguez Jr. was booked to face Jose Maria Cardenas on 30 November 2019, with the vacant WBC Latino super flyweight title on the line. He won the fight by a sixth-round technical knockout.

Rodríguez Jr. vs Ioka

On 2 December 2020, it was revealed that Rodríguez Jr. would challenge the reigning WBC super flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez. The fight was expected to take place on the undercard of the

Canelo Álvarez Santos Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez Barragán (; born 18 July 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer. He has won multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of ...

and

Callum Smith Callum John Smith (born 23 April 1990) is an English professional boxer. He held the WBA (Super) and '' Ring'' magazine super-middleweight titles from 2018 to 2020, and at regional level the British and European super-middleweight titles bet ...

super middleweight title bout, which took place on 19 December 2020 at the

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 mil ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. Martinez withdrew from the fight on 10 December, due to a non-

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

related illness. On 1 June 2021, the WBO ordered their reigning champion

Kazuto Ioka is a Japanese professional boxer. He is the first male Japanese boxer and fourth Asian to be a four-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA and WBC mini-flyweight titles between 2011 and 2012, the WBA (Regular) light-flyweight tit ...

to face Rodríguez Jr., who was at the time the #2 ranked super flyweight contender, in a mandatory title defense. The pair came to terms three weeks later, on 21 June, therefore successfully avoiding a purse bid. The fight was scheduled to take place on 1 September 2021, at the

Ota City General Gymnasium Ota City General Gymnasium is an arena in Ōta, Tokyo is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is often called Ōta City. , the ward has an estimated population of 716,413, with 379,199 households and a populatio ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Ioka won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 116–112 in his favor.

Later super flyweight career

After his second failed title bid, Rodríguez Jr. moved up to bantamweight. He faced Arnulfo Salvador Rodriguez on 14 January 2022. Rodríguez Jr. won the fight by a seventh-round technical knockout. Rodríguez Jr. returned to super flyweight to face Erick Omar Lopez on 16 July 2022. He won the fight by a unanimous decision. Rodríguez Jr. faced the WBO

champion Junto Nakatani in a super flyweight non-title bout on 1 November 2022, on the undercard of the

Hiroto Kyoguchi is a Japanese professional boxer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF mini-flyweight title from 2017 to 2018, and the WBA (Super) and '' The Ring'' light-flyweight titles from 2018 to 2022. As of October 2022, he is ranked a ...

and

Kenshiro Teraji , known professionally by his ring name , is a Japanese professional boxer. He is a two-time and unified light flyweight champion, having held the WBC light flyweight title from 2017 to 2021, and the unified WBA (Super), WBC, and ''The Ring' ...

title unification bout. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 98–91, 97–92 and 99–90. Rodríguez Jr. was deducted a point in the seventh round for landing a low blow.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Francisco Jr. Boxers from Nuevo León Sportspeople from Monterrey Mini-flyweight boxers Light-flyweight boxers Flyweight boxers Super-flyweight boxers 1993 births Living people Mexican male boxers 21st-century Mexican people