Jesse Rodriguez stops Sunny Edwards after nine to unify flyweight titles

Jesse Rodriguez of the US, right, lands a right hand on Sunny Edwards of Great Britain during their flyweight title unification fight on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona. Photograph: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Jesse Rodríguez defeated Great Britain’s Sunny Edwards by ninth-round technical knockout to unify the IBF and WBO flyweight championships on Saturday night at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Rodríguez, the 23-year-old from San Antonio nicknamed Bam, dropped Edwards for the first time in his career with a straight left hand in the ninth that saw the London man pitch forward to his knees, his face on the canvas. Edwards beat the count and made it to the bell, but did not leave his stool for the 10th round.

The American added Edwards’ IBF title at 112lbs to his own WBO strap, becoming the first unified champion in boxing’s flyweight division since Brian Viloria in 2012.

Masterful 🥊

Ringside angle of @210bam before the end of the 9th.

Who do you want to see him fight next?#RodriguezEdwards pic.twitter.com/PXkiTLXL7U

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 17, 2023

“I had a lot of motivation going into this fight knowing I have a daughter on the way, I’m just so happy right now,” said Rodriguez, who improved to 19-0 with 12 knockouts.

“I’m just satisfied that I got the win, period,” he said.

“That was my main goal. But during camp I knew I had what it took to knock him out or stop him and that’s what I did, so (that) just made the win that much better.”

Edwards, who fell to 20-1 with four wins inside the distance, had cuts around both eyes by the time the action-packed bout was halted.

Sunny Edwards of Great Britain is knocked down in the ninth round. Photograph: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The cut over his left eye, he said, made it hard to get away from Rodriguez’s lead hand.

“I think it was a great fight, but, yeah, the better man won today,” said Edwards, who had made four successful defenses of the IBF title he won with a decision over South Africa’s Moruti Mthalane in 2021.

Rodriguez had claimed the vacant WBO title in April with a decision over Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez.

He had moved down in weight after claiming the World Boxing Council super flyweight world title with a victory over Carlos Cuadros in February of 2022, a title he defended twice.

“A lot of people said my career was overrated, that I wasn’t that good, but now I showed what I can do,” Rodríguez said. “Edwards is a hell of a fighter, he was champion for a reason and tonight I managed to stop him.”