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kenyan_cheena · 07-26-2008, 11:09 PM

NAPOLES EDGES RODRIGUEZ
IN CLASH OF CUBAN CONTENDERS

Monday 14 October 2002

Olympic silver medallist Jose Napoles improved his professional record to 2-0(1) tonight with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over compatriot Luis Rodriguez in front of some 35,000 spectators at Havana's Gran Stadium. Both combatants are regarded as being amongst the top Welterweights in the world and they produced a contest worthy of such praise. Napoles was fast out of the gates, dominating the opening round and cutting Rodriguez over the left eye with a hard right hand. He maintaining control in round two but from that point on it became a much more competitive affair.

Rodriguez produced some great work in round three to get himself into the contest, coming close to dropping the Olympian with a hard uppercut late in the frame. Neither man was able to claim the upperhand through a terribly even final three rounds as they traded lightning-fast, powerful blows and refused to take a backward step. Napoles was rewarded for his impressive start and took the verdict by scores of 59-56 and 58-57 (twice), the two men embracing warmly after the announcement and the crowd on their feet in applause. Napoles landed 137 of 455 punches (.301), Rodriguez 147 of 365 (.403).

"I have a lot of respect for him," said Napoles. "He did not have the best amateur career but I know he's got a lot of talent and I was very weary of that. He had some bad luck on debut, and one of us had to win tonight but I hope he can go on from here and qualify for the World Championship tournament. He is too good not to."

The defeat saw Rodriguez fall to 0-1-1 and while his opponent tonight was of the highest quality he'll need to start winning sooner rather than later.

***

Earlier in the evening the Puerto Rican duo of Felix Trinidad and Wilfred Benitez were both victorious. Trinidad bounced back from his shock debut loss to score a 4th round KO of compatriot Angel Espada while Benitez was too good for his Dominican Republic opponent Miguel Montilla, winning by unanimous decision (58-57, 59-55, 58-56). A silver medallist in Sydney, Trinidad had been humiliated by the Cuban Jose Stable last month but looked fantastic tonight, flooring Espada two minutes into the opening round and then knocking him out cold with an overhand right a minute into the 4th, Espada dropping to one knee before falling sideways to the canvas.

07-26-2008, 11:09 PM	#608 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,631	NAPOLES EDGES RODRIGUEZ IN CLASH OF CUBAN CONTENDERS Monday 14 October 2002 Olympic silver medallist Jose Napoles improved his professional record to 2-0(1) tonight with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over compatriot Luis Rodriguez in front of some 35,000 spectators at Havana's Gran Stadium. Both combatants are regarded as being amongst the top Welterweights in the world and they produced a contest worthy of such praise. Napoles was fast out of the gates, dominating the opening round and cutting Rodriguez over the left eye with a hard right hand. He maintaining control in round two but from that point on it became a much more competitive affair. Rodriguez produced some great work in round three to get himself into the contest, coming close to dropping the Olympian with a hard uppercut late in the frame. Neither man was able to claim the upperhand through a terribly even final three rounds as they traded lightning-fast, powerful blows and refused to take a backward step. Napoles was rewarded for his impressive start and took the verdict by scores of 59-56 and 58-57 (twice), the two men embracing warmly after the announcement and the crowd on their feet in applause. Napoles landed 137 of 455 punches (.301), Rodriguez 147 of 365 (.403). "I have a lot of respect for him," said Napoles. "He did not have the best amateur career but I know he's got a lot of talent and I was very weary of that. He had some bad luck on debut, and one of us had to win tonight but I hope he can go on from here and qualify for the World Championship tournament. He is too good not to." The defeat saw Rodriguez fall to 0-1-1 and while his opponent tonight was of the highest quality he'll need to start winning sooner rather than later. * Earlier in the evening the Puerto Rican duo of Felix Trinidad and Wilfred Benitez were both victorious. Trinidad bounced back from his shock debut loss to score a 4th round KO of compatriot Angel Espada while Benitez was too good for his Dominican Republic opponent Miguel Montilla, winning by unanimous decision (58-57, 59-55, 58-56). A silver medallist in Sydney, Trinidad had been humiliated by the Cuban Jose Stable last month but looked fantastic tonight, flooring Espada two minutes into the opening round and then knocking him out cold with an overhand right a minute into the 4th, Espada dropping to one knee before falling sideways to the canvas. __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports** Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 08-01-2008 at 04:50 AM.