We will see what Antonio Russell is made of next Saturday when he takes on former bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez in his toughest test yet as a professional fighter. Russell (18-0 with 12 knockouts) will get his first chance to win a title, while Rodriguez (19-2 with 12 knockouts) gets one more opportunity to redeem himself after losing his last two fights. The interim WBA bantamweight title fight will be the co-main event with the bantamweight unification bout between John Riel Casimero and Guillermo Rigondeaux at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Manny Pacquiao Promotions has put this card together, and the action will be aired on Showtime starting at 10 p.m. ET.
When: Saturday, August 14, 2021
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California
Why: Interim WBA Bantamweight Title
Antonio Russell vs Emmanuel Rodriguez Betting Odds
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There will be boxing betting odds released for this fight in the next few days. Russell is likely to be favored given his unbeaten record, and it doesn’t hurt that Rodriguez has lost two consecutive fights. Rodriguez will desperately be trying to avoid a third straight defeat though.
As the fight nears, there will be decision betting too. You will be able to bet on whether the fight is decided by KO, TKO, or decision, and you can bet on which boxer will win the fight in that fashion as well.
Antonio Russell vs Emmanuel Rodriguez Preview
Antonio Russell is the younger brother of current WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. Russell would love to join his older brother as a world champion, but he has not faced a boxer as talented as Emmanuel Rodriguez.
The younger Russell began his professional boxing career in January 2015. He beat up tomato cans in his first 11 fights with only three of his opponents having winning records, but a TKO win over 16-3 Jose Maria Cardenas showed that he has some potential.
Russell went on to beat Francisco Javier Pedroza and Saul Eduardo Hernandez, but his last two wins have not been dominant. He won by disqualification against Jesus Martinez last February, and Russell won a technical decision over Juan Carlos Payano in November. The win over Payano was overshadowed by an accidental head butt that led to a deep cut opening on Russell’s opponent.
Emmanuel Rodriguez won a gold medal at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore less than a month after his 18th birthday. Rodriguez was hoping to take part in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but a car crash led to the boxer suffering second degree burns on most of his body shortly after his win at the Youth Olympics. While he did make a full recovery, he was unable to get back in form in time to make it to London.
Rodriguez turned pro shortly after failing to qualify. He racked up quick knockout victories in his first four bouts, and he eventually knocked out Miguel Cartagena in the first round to secure the WBO Latino bantamweight belt. Rodriguez defended that belt twice before securing a knockout of Alex Rangel to earn the WBC Latino bantamweight belt.
We saw Rodriguez become a world champion in May 2018. He won a unanimous decision over Paul Butler to claim the IBF bantamweight title, and he successfully defended that strap with a split decision win over Jason Moloney.
Unfortunately for Rodriguez, he was no match for Naoya Inoue two years ago. He was knocked out in the second round by Inoue, and that defeat knocked him out of the World Boxing Super Series too. His last defeat was very controversial though. After not entering the ring for almost 20 months, he faced Reymart Gaballo and lost a split decision. One of the judges and Showtime’s scorer both had Rodriguez winning the fight 118-110 on points, but the other two official judges had Gaballo winning a narrow victory.
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