Inoue vs Rodriguez

Who won Inoue vs Rodriguez?

Naoya Inoue beat Ricardo Rodriguez by knockout in the 3rd round on Sunday 21st May 2017 at Ariake Colosseum in Japan.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Super Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 115 pounds (8.2 stone or 52.2 KG).

This contest was for the WBO super flyweight championship of the world.

Inoue vs Rodriguez stats

Back in May 2017, Naoya Inoue stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 12 wins, zero loses and 0  draws, 10 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Ricardo Rodriguez made his way to the ring with a record of 16 wins, 3 loses and 0 draws, with 5 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Inoue had a massive power advantage over Rodriguez, boosting at 83% knock out percentage over Rodriguez's 31%.

Naoya Inoue was the younger man by 3 years, at 25 years old.

Inoue had a height advantage of 1 inch over Rodriguez.

Both Naoya Inoue & Ricardo Rodriguez fought out of an orthodox stance.

Inoue was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 7 less fights, and made his debut in 2012, 1 year and 5 months later than Rodriguez, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 35 more professional rounds, 156 to Rodriguez's 121.

Inoue vs Rodriguez form

Inoue remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Kohei Kono on 30th December 2016 by technical knockout in the 6th round in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ariake Colosseum, Auckland, Japan.

Previous to that, he had won against Karoon Jarupianlerd on 4th September 2016 by knockout in the 10th round in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Sky Arena, Zama.

Going into that contest, he had beat David Carmona on 8th May 2016 by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ariake Colosseum, Zama.

Before that, he had defeated Warlito Parrenas on 29th December 2015 by technical knockout in the 2nd round in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ariake Colosseum, Zama.

He had won against Omar Andres Narvaez on 30th December 2014 by knockout in the 2nd round in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Metropolitan Gym, Caseros.

Activity check

Inoue's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 32 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6.4 rounds on average.

What time did Inoue vs Rodriguez start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 12:00 PM UTC at Ariake Colosseum, Japan, which was 8:00 AM EST or 5:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 1:00 PM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Inoue vs Rodriguez?

Naoya Inoue was a 7/50 (-710) favourite going into the contest, while Ricardo Rodriguez made his way into the ring at 49/10 (+490) with oddsmakers.