CHICAGO — Erislandy Lara defended his WBA world super welterweight title with a unanimous 12-round decision over Delvin Rodriguez on Friday night.
Lara (21-2-2) lost a controversial split decision to Canelo Alvarez last July. On Friday, the challenger barely landed a punch in the first four rounds as Lara snuck in quick combinations throughout the 154-pound fight.
The southpaw knocked down the 35-year old Rodriguez with a left jab near the end of the sixth round and had Rodriguez against the ropes in the eighth.
Rodriguez (28-8-4) was no match for the quicker Cuban. Rodriguez mocked Lara after taking several punches in the 12th round, motioning that Lara couldn’t knock him out.
Lara was coming off a unanimous decision over Ishe Smith in December.
On the undercard, Artur Beterbiev (9-0) stopped Alexander Johnson (16-3) in the seventh round of a 175-pound light-heavyweight match. The 30-year old Russian has won all nine of his fights by knockout.