Rodriguez wins opener featuring 5 knockdowns in two rounds
Earlier this year, Julio Diaz surrendered the IBF lightweight title for the opportunity to meet Jose Luis Castillo. Diaz lost to Castillo, who in turn went on to lose to Diego Corrales in the fight of the year. On Tuesday, Diaz's performance served as a statement that he is ready to get back into the world title mix. Diaz, Boxingtalk's #7 lightweight, got a first-round, one-punch knockout againt Marco Angel Perez in a little over a minute of action in in El Cajon, California. Diaz would now like to face Juan Diaz, the WBA titlist. On the undercard, Delvin Rodriguez snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He was knocked down and hurt by Chris "Shaka" Henry in the first round and it looked like he might not be able to continue. But he went to war and quickly floored Henry a few seconds later. Rodriguez was still so buzzed, he didn't remember to go to a neutral corner right away. But Henry couldn't take Rodriguez's punches, and he went down again for a total of three first-round knockdowns. Henry went down twice more in the second and the referee stopped the welterweight bout. Rodriguez is now 15-1-1. --Scott Shaffer
