Matchroom revealed yesterday that Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (40-6-1, 27 KOs) had tested positive for a banned substance from a test by VADA following his 12-round unanimous decision win over WBC interim flyweight champion Galal Yafai (9-1, 7 KOs) on June 21st in Birmingham, England. Rodriguez Jr, 33, is currently under investigation, and his B-sample will now be tested.
Rodriguez Jr. Doping Test Positive
The veteran Rodriguez Jr. had beaten the stuffing out of Yafai, outworking by a wide margin en route to winning by the scores 119-108, 119-108, and 118-109. The fight arguably should have been stopped by the sixth round, as it was evident that Yafai had no chance of winning and was being thoroughly beaten by Rodriguez.
Punch Stats: Dominant Rodriguez Jr.
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr: 575 punches landed of 1089 punches for 53%. Of that total, 528 were power punches, meaning almost everything he threw was with power.
- Galal Yafai: 230 of 795 for 34%.
It’s unclear if the fight results will be ruled a no contest, and Yafai given back his WBC interim title. However, with the way that he lost to Rodriguez Jr., one could tell that the same thing would happen no matter how many times they fight. For fans who have never watched Rodriguez, he’s always been known for having a high punch output. This was not out of the norm for him to have a high output.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn hasn’t said whether he’ll look to line up a rematch. Given how one-sided it was, it’s unlikely that he will. Rodriguez Jr. could ruin Yafai in a second fight if he throws over 1000 punches again. Yafai is like his brother, Kal Yafai, in the way that he fights.
Rodriguez Jr.’s High Punch Output
Yafai’s fans are furious about Rodriguez Jr. testing positive, and some are saying, ‘I told you so.’ They felt that with the high number of shots that Rodriguez threw, he had to have been on PEDs. That’s how he’s always fought his entire pro career, and he’d never tested positive for any banned substances before.
ℹ️ An update on Galal Yafai vs Francisco Rodriguez. pic.twitter.com/MRfjRxbtok
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 9, 2025
Last Updated on 07/10/2025
Read the full article here