Elvis Rodriguez vs Kendo Castaneda (27-09-2024) Full Fight
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SportsTranscript
00:00All right, right here, we're going to call on the letters here, we're going to call on the letters here. Step it up, let's go to work.
00:08All right, Tim, we talked about how this is going to be a round robin of the best 140 pounds that Top Rank has on their stable, but there's six degrees of separation because Kendall Castaneda beat or lost to Yomar Alamo, who was just in the fight against Tiger Johnson.
00:25And now, he's in this ring against Elvis Rodriguez.
00:33All right, Elvis, Southpaw, had a little scare in his last fight.
00:38Yeah, he did, he got dropped in the first round.
00:41Exactly, got hit with a big shot.
00:44You know, when instances, things happen like that, you got to go back to the drawing board.
00:49The most important thing is to find out why, why and how you got hit with that shot.
00:55But also, you learn a little bit about yourself because he was able to get up off that canvas and send his opposition to the canvas and win that fight decisively.
01:05So, he gained some experience and knowledge and he now should believe in his chin and in his skills.
01:12And they were frustrated, both Elvis and Freddy, because he said, man, that's the punch we worked on the entire camp, not getting caught by the right hand, and that's what ended up catching us.
01:21Well, right out the gate, I can tell you why he got hit with it.
01:24Just look at his positioning of his guards, he continues to drop them, gets in his little rhythm and you see that backhand continues to drop over and over and over.
01:32And you can be timed, you know, especially he was stepping back out of range and he dropped that backhand and he got clipped right on the temple, you know, which took his legs.
01:42But he recovered quickly, man, and he was able to deliver his own knockout with his beautiful right hook.
01:48We talked about the hunger of wanting to be a fighter and we saw Yomar Alamo give Tiger Johnson all he could handle.
01:55Well, Kendall Castaneda's got a similar story.
01:58He works for FedEx.
01:59He gets up for the 3.30 a.m. shift to 8 a.m., then goes to the gym from 9 to noon, does conditioning in the evening.
02:07And, you know, we've seen him multiple times.
02:11We've seen him in the bubble.
02:12We've seen him out there in Texas.
02:14And this young man, he's going to try to give Elvis a test in him.
02:20Again, the style that Elvis had problems with when he lost was a boxing style.
02:27You know, Castaneda, he's not the most tremendous boxer, the sweetest boxer, but he can box and he can switch style for him.
02:36Very well knowledgeable inside the ring in tactics and with his technique.
02:42You see him right now landing that right hand.
02:44That's the punch you want to land against the southpaw.
02:47Getting that lead foot outside the lead foot of the southpaw to be able to line up your backhand and vice versa for the southpaw as well.
02:55But that's how you eat.
02:57You eat with the right hands against southpaws and you see him going right to it.
03:01Nice left hand right down the middle.
03:03And the thing that I liked about that shot that Elvis just threw, he threw it at the chest.
03:09He didn't throw it at the head.
03:13You were mentioning that right hand that Kendo throws, especially when your opponent was dropped by a right hand in his last fight.
03:19You want to take him right back to that place and put him on alert.
03:24First round in the books.
03:26Up next, it'll be Floyd Cash Flo Diaz.
03:29The undefeated bantamweight carries four straight decision wins into this fight,
03:33but he sees all those rounds as great experience that he'll be able to apply moving forward.
03:41Tonight, I plan on doing what I got to do.
03:43I've been in the stage plenty of times and I feel the more and more I fight in this type of setting,
03:49the more comfortable I get.
03:51So the competition's getting up.
03:53The stakes are higher.
03:55But from my first fight to now, I feel as though I'm calmer.
03:59Sometimes I always don't got to catch a punch and then throw it right back.
04:03Sometimes just let it be.
04:05I'm understanding the pro game a lot more.
04:07The more I keep doing what I got to do, the more I set up my punches right as I've been doing,
04:11the more guys I'm going to get out of there and the more highlight reels I'm making.
04:19I remember this young man talking to us about how he'd spent four hours in the barber's chair
04:29getting his hair dyed different colors and fades and whatnot.
04:33Now he's just gone almost Tim Bradley here.
04:35He finally got his priorities in check.
04:37I mean, getting your hair did four hours in the chair for what, man?
04:41Exactly.
04:43You know, through life, man.
04:45Life, we change, man.
04:47We evolve over time.
04:49And he just survived.
04:51He, his girlfriend, and his trainer survived a bad accident out there in Mexico
04:56after his girlfriend's last fight, Zarina McCoy.
05:00And we'll talk about that story later on in the fight.
05:03Suffered a concussion in June, and here he is fighting for another victory as a pro.
05:0912-0 with three knockouts, Cashflow Diaz.
05:14You won't want to miss his performance tonight.
05:17He'll be taking on Mario Hernandez out of Santa Ana, California.
05:21So you can see the experience of Rodriguez.
05:25Very patient in his approach.
05:28You know, he doesn't waste shots.
05:30He doesn't like to waste punches.
05:31Very calculated.
05:36Kendall just walking straight in behind that jab.
05:39Yeah, but he's got to be careful.
05:40He's walking right into that backhand.
05:42You can tell.
05:43Elvis right now, just trying to find his timing.
05:47Castaneda, he's coming in, he's getting out of range.
05:50Coming in, he's making it difficult for Rodriguez to be able to calculate the distance.
05:56Oh, he attempted the right hook, a lead right hook.
05:59Just off the mark.
06:00A moment ago, Steve Willis, third man in the ring, admonished both fighters to watch their feet
06:05because they're fighting for that hook control.
06:08Outside position, yeah.
06:09Lead foot dominance.
06:11Nice shot right there.
06:12Here you see Castaneda going right to the southpaw stance.
06:17And the reason why he went southpaw is because he found himself starting to get time.
06:23Rodriguez was getting closer and closer with those shots and he said,
06:26you know what, let me change up a little bit.
06:29Let me go southpaw.
06:30Let me see if I can do something from this angle.
06:33But doesn't that put him closer to the power left though?
06:36Absolutely.
06:37Rodriguez.
06:38Absolutely.
06:39Most times when guys are able to switch, they think it's a great thing.
06:43Sometimes it can work against you.
06:45You know, it confuses your defensive system.
06:48Oh, he got hurt with that.
06:50You see that with the left hand?
06:51Again, when that left hand landed right there, it's a split second.
06:54It's like you're out of your body.
06:56Like you're not there.
06:57Like time freezes when you get hit with shots like that.
07:00And then you wake up.
07:02Guess what?
07:03I don't know.
07:04I'm telling you, man.
07:05But I believe you do.
07:06I'm going to take your word for it.
07:08I've had many, many times in fights where I get froze for just a split second in real time, man.
07:18And I say to myself, I'm glad I didn't get hit with another shot after that.
07:24You didn't get hit with the woo woo?
07:26Woo woo.
07:28We're at the Madison Square Garden Theater.
07:32And there is Vito Melnicki, New Jersey's own.
07:36Rated number four by the WBA at 154 pounds.
07:40He'll be taking on Italy's Khalil El-Haraz.
07:44He's got a 16-5-1 record.
07:46And Tim, he was robbed of a knockout victory against Lazlo Todd last time out.
07:52He was robbed of a knockout victory against Lazlo Todd last time out in August.
07:58Because he was tearing Todd up.
08:01And his father, who was his trainer, stepped up on the ring apron.
08:04And it was considered disqualification.
08:06It's all good.
08:07He's going to have many more fights where he can get knockouts.
08:10Let's see if he can get one tonight.
08:12He's going to be smashed pretty tough.
08:14He's a former Italian national champion.
08:16And a fighter that I believe that hasn't been stopped yet.
08:19Interesting to see how he handles the pressure.
08:22Again, the tactics.
08:23The awkwardness of the opposition he's facing tonight.
08:27See the Ed Hardy fight suit there.
08:30Pen suit.
08:31Ed Hardy trying to make a comeback, man.
08:33You going to get some of that bling, Tim?
08:34I don't know, man.
08:35It's kind of too flashy for me, bro.
08:37I like to just stay simplicity.
08:39Stay simple.
08:40You know, settled.
08:41That's too flashy.
08:42You're talking about simple?
08:43How about coming in through that building, just brick everywhere.
08:47Old school New York City building.
08:50And then he comes in here.
08:51And when Vito Melnicki makes his way out to the ring, half a jersey is going to be here cheering him on.
08:56My goodness.
08:57I know.
08:58Good looking kid.
08:59Great size.
09:00You know, for the weight class.
09:02Good punching power.
09:03Good skill.
09:05He's jabbing right to the body there from Elvis Rodriguez.
09:18Look, Castaneda is the type of fighter, again, that if you allow him to get comfortable,
09:25if you allow him to gain confidence, he can be a sore thumb.
09:29You know, it's the third round right now.
09:33And now you're starting to see Elvis starting to pick it up.
09:37I was thinking, Tim, instead of him being uncomfortable with Castaneda,
09:43Castaneda can't find his comfort zone.
09:45Exactly.
09:46And Elvis is working very smart here through the first three rounds.
09:49And he's not leaving himself open either.
09:55See the defense of Elvis.
10:00Nice combinations there from Rodriguez.
10:03Good defense though from Kendo Castaneda, keeping his defensive responsibility at the max
10:08because he understands the power that Elvis brings with 13 knockouts and 16 wins.
10:13Nice throwaway left and then a short right hook from Elvis.
10:17Absolutely.
10:18Both those shots are hard.
10:19Usually with combinations, you might get the second shot.
10:22It's the hardest shot.
10:23But both those punches were solid punches from Elvis.
10:29And when you start blocking shots and deflecting shots, it's important for you to react.
10:34It's important for you to punch back.
10:36Because if your opposition gets wind of that and he starts to let his hands go
10:41and you don't react to anything, you don't punch in between,
10:45then you allow him the amount of attack.
10:47One, it's going to reflect on the scorecards for sure.
10:51And he might get something through on you.
10:55That's another right hand and then follows it up with a right to the body.
10:59So, good combination punching now from Elvis who's starting to put them together.
11:05You can tell that Castaneda's overpowered in a sense as far as the power of the punching goes.
11:10You see every time Elvis throws a punch, Castaneda has to respect it.
11:16He's keeping those hands high and tucked.
11:20And Tim, he has a 4-inch reach advantage on top of the physical size difference
11:25that you see that favors Elvis Rodriguez here as he goes downstairs once again with a right.
11:30It's good body work which is going to eventually open up the head of Castaneda.
11:35Scheduled for 10 rounds here inside the theater at MSG,
11:38Freddie Roach makes his way into the ring to speak to Elvis Rodriguez
11:43and his assistant Marvin Simodio as well.
11:47Excellent.
11:50Yeah, the uppercut is beautiful.
11:52It's a nice combination.
11:53Very good.
11:54Yeah, the uppercut is beautiful.
11:55It's a nice combination.
11:56Very good.
11:59The uppercut is here for you, okay?
12:03Use your feints.
12:04Use your feints.
12:05He'll go down and you can grab the uppercut.
12:08It's all yours.
12:19Here's a Tim Bradley special on the right side of the box.
12:22This usually happens when southpaw versus orthodox fighters in open stance battle.
12:28You know, the heads, the power shots, they line up on the same side.
12:32So, that's usually what happens.
12:34The heads collide because when they throw their backhands
12:37or they're going to commit with a shot,
12:39it's usually the backhand and they just line with one another.
12:43So, that's why you saw the heads collide right there.
12:46It made me think of you and Manny Pacquiao
12:48as I was reading the Freddie Roach notable fighter strength,
12:5115 plus champions, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao among them,
12:55and you fought against him three times.
12:57Yeah.
12:58Manny Pacquiao, definitely all-time great, in my opinion.
13:02Top ten, one of the best fighters of all time.
13:06Shared the ring with him.
13:07Very, man, the strongest fighter I've ever been in the ring with.
13:10But that goes to show you how talented Floyd Mayweather was.
13:15He's also one of those all-time great legends.
13:23Elvis Rodriguez trying to prove that he deserves to be in the conversation
13:27for a world title opportunity, ranked number eight by the IBF.
13:34Real quick, Elvis Rodriguez is a Dominican fighter,
13:37there's Dominican fans here, and you know what they were just chanting?
13:40What?
13:41Polanco.
13:43They're saying, Polanco, go eat him.
13:46Hey, Polanco's a bad boy, man, he really is.
13:49He impressed me tonight.
13:51I just would like to see him put that chin down, tuck that chin.
13:54He has his chin up in the air all the time.
13:57He fights out of that Philly shell, that Mayweather,
14:00I'm going to say Mayweather shell.
14:04But he got to tuck that chin, man.
14:06Keep that behind his shoulder, at least.
14:10But you saw the big miss upstairs from Elvis Rodriguez.
14:15Yeah, big miss there.
14:17See, and he went to the body there, yes, that's excellent.
14:20And you see how it got Castaneda's attention.
14:23But one thing you can learn from one of the pound-for-pound best fighters
14:28of this generation, Canelo Alvarez,
14:31is that you don't always have to swing for the head.
14:34Fighters need to start swinging for the shoulders.
14:37You break those shoulders down, break those arms down,
14:40so that way it doesn't allow them to use them.
14:43You take it away from them.
14:45That's what's brilliant about Canelo Alvarez and his setup.
14:48He broke all this stuff up.
14:50His biceps, he tore his biceps with punches.
14:53You talk about taking somebody's weapons away tactically,
14:56he did it physically.
14:58He took his hand away from him.
15:00But it's a tactic as well.
15:02That's crude.
15:04I don't see a lot of fighters using that in their arsenal.
15:07I don't see it.
15:09It's not pronounced like Canelo Alvarez, the way he does it.
15:16But I ain't going to lie, if I was fighting again,
15:18I'd be banging the crap out of my opponent's shoulders.
15:27What did they say, hit him anywhere?
15:29Sometimes you just hit him anywhere.
15:33Nice body work there at the end of this fourth round for Elvis Rodriguez.
15:42Short right.
15:46Elvis starting to impose himself.
15:48And Tim, it's because he's been breaking down Kendo Castaneda round by round.
15:52That barbecue sauce on those ribs, baby.
15:56Straight left hand down to the body, right on the belt line from Elvis.
16:01Going down to the body, it definitely can tame your opposition.
16:06Tame him, take his stamina, take his legs, anything he had planned,
16:11guess what, anything he ate, it's going to rattle all of that.
16:15It's a great weapon to use to break down your opponents.
16:20I wish I saw a lot of younger fighters use body work
16:24and really apply it in their arsenal.
16:27I'm always talking about it.
16:28People are like, you always talk about his body work.
16:30It's so important, man, because you don't understand that the quicker you can train his energy
16:36and zap his energy, the better it is for you.
16:41I mean, but describe the difference, because we're used to hearing somebody,
16:45oh, he went to the body, it's hooks to the side, to the ribs, to the spleen, or to the liver, right?
16:51But when you see these punches from Elvis Rodriguez,
16:54describe what those stabbing shots feel like.
16:59You really want to know?
17:00Yeah.
17:01You know, like when you've got to go to the bathroom?
17:04I've heard of that before.
17:05That's exactly where it feels, like you've got to go to the restroom.
17:07I mean, it depends on where it lands.
17:09If it lands in your solar plexus, you can barely breathe.
17:14Shortness of breath, you know, it lands around the flanks.
17:17You know, you're able to take it, but sooner or later, like a few rounds,
17:21you're like, man, why does my legs feel like they're drained?
17:26I feel like I have no strength in my legs.
17:29That's what body shots do.
17:30That's how I feel from carrying you sometimes, Tim.
17:33My legs start to hurt.
17:39I mean, Keno has to start creating opportunities for himself.
17:43We're in the fifth round, Tim, and it's been all Elvis in control.
17:47Yeah, because the defense of Elvis is tight.
17:49It's hard to really penetrate that defense of him.
17:52And then when he's reacting and when he decides to punch, they're heavy shots.
17:56Castaneda has to respect it, just like that left hand right there.
18:00But what I want to see Elvis do is start to put two, three punches together.
18:04He's one or two punches at a time.
18:07Start putting combinations together.
18:10But that requires him to pick up his feet and move forward.
18:14Elvis has to get used to picking up his feet.
18:17People don't understand how hard it is to be a power puncher
18:19and also be able to move your feet like Marquez,
18:25who can move his feet, who can close the distance on you,
18:28who can chase you around the ring and still be explosive.
18:31Man, Castaneda switched southpaw, and that was a short right hand from Elvis Rodriguez
18:37who said, you might want to rethink this southpaw stance against me.
18:42There's the feet, Tim.
18:44Yeah, you can quickly get reminded.
18:46But again, you see Elvis right there pick up his feet right there.
18:49But again, power punchers, they like to have balance, great balance.
18:53A lot of times they won't throw if they're not on balance.
18:57That was a tip there.
18:59Oh, nice right uppercut there.
19:01There it is.
19:02Elvis Rodriguez finally pouring it on.
19:04Again, just watch his feet, how he slides along the canvas.
19:07They like to have their feet planted underneath them.
19:09That's a good combination right there.
19:11He hurt him with that shot you saw.
19:13You see the reaction, yes.
19:15Castaneda coming all the way back trying to find refuge against the rope.
19:18And that's where now Rodriguez needs to make him pay for being up against those ropes,
19:21like he does there with the right to the spleen.
19:23Man, Rodriguez, he's missing a shot.
19:25I like the two punches downstairs, but give me that uppercut upstairs.
19:29And you see the cut over the right eye or the left eye of Kendo Castaneda.
19:36Castaneda's game, man.
19:38He's definitely game.
19:40But I think he's game because Rodriguez is missing that third follow-up shot.
19:45That was an attempt right there, an uppercut from too far away.
19:48But in the inside, when he dug down to that body, Castaneda's leaning forward.
19:52And that's the perfect time to send that uppercut right up the middle.
19:55It's open.
19:59Ooh, that's a big cut over the left eyelid.
20:03Oh, yeah, that is a cut.
20:12Listen, bro, you got to make it a fight, all right?
20:14You already used his power.
20:16You got to make it a fucking fight in there. Keep touching the body.
20:19You have the urgency in the corner.
20:24Oh, that's a nasty cut.
20:31And Tim, remember that uppercut that Elvis Rodriguez landed?
20:34Yeah.
20:35I think that's the one that caused the punch.
20:37I'm good, bro.
20:38I mean, the cut.
20:39Uppercuts are so dangerous, man.
20:42That was a sharp uppercut right there.
20:46Look at the jab right there. Bust him right up.
20:51Good follow-up. A miss.
20:54However, that uppercut, again, what he did was he came around,
20:58got that hand to push out outward,
21:01and then he came right up the middle with that uppercut.
21:04He opened that shot up.
21:05That was great.
21:07That was a great combination.
21:09I mean, and that's the type of cut that can end the fight.
21:13Yeah.
21:14It's in a bad spot, and if it continues to get damaged and open up even wider,
21:18there's going to be some concern.
21:20They actually did a really good job there.
21:22Trainer Ronnie Cantu and Cutman Jairo Castaneda, who's Kendo's brother,
21:26in terms of stopping the blood,
21:28but as soon as it gets hit, it's going to start flowing again.
21:30Yeah, all they use is Adrenaline 1000.
21:32That's all they use.
21:34Adrenaline 1000.
21:36Nice straight left from Elvis.
21:44You see now the momentum turning towards Elvis,
21:49going downhill and just punishing Kendo.
21:53Yeah, but you got Castaneda right now,
21:56again, showing his heart,
21:59and he's hiding right now what he doesn't want Elvis to find out.
22:06So he's fighting against it.
22:08He's making sure Elvis don't get to him.
22:10So he's being more aggressive just to bag off Elvis.
22:14Yeah, he doesn't want Elvis to see just how big that cut is.
22:17Exactly, or see that weakness. Sense weakness.
22:23Nice body shot from Elvis Rodriguez.
22:25This time it was a left to the solar plexus.
22:31We talked about Castaneda having heart.
22:33I mean, that's why he continues to fight here on Top Rank Boxing on ESPN,
22:37because you know what you're going to get.
22:39You're going to get resistance.
22:40You're going to get a fighter who is tough, who can take a shot.
22:44It's through six rounds.
22:45It's been all Elvis Rodriguez, but Kendo standing there.
22:49You see the right, the lead eye.
22:52It's the right eye of Elvis.
22:54That little mouse on the side of him.
23:00I don't know if that's from head clash or maybe from the left hand,
23:02the lead hand of Castaneda.
23:06But a little information.
23:08I'm starting to recognize that now.
23:11Oh, and that end. Both eyes, actually.
23:14Starting to puff up a bit.
23:15Yeah, but the right is worse than the left, so...
23:18Kendo came to fight.
23:20He always comes to fight.
23:23Just has a hard time winning these type of fights.
23:25Yeah.
23:26Losses by stoppage against Antonio Moran in 10.
23:30El Pugar.
23:31Raul Julio, the Mexican Olympian.
23:3310-0.
23:34Heavy, heavy shots.
23:42He's a hard out.
23:44And through six, he's taken every shot that Elvis Rodriguez has been able to land.
23:54At 10.30 Eastern, we invite you to join us on ESPN.
23:57That is Bruce Shushu Carrington,
24:00the undefeated top-rated WBA featherweight contender.
24:05He turns this building into Shoe York City
24:09when he comes here, there with his fiancée.
24:13They were sweethearts for a long time,
24:16and now she is at his side as he makes his way into the MSG Theater,
24:22listening to his music.
24:24And Tim, Shushu's got a million-dollar smile.
24:27He's got all the talent in the world to get to the top,
24:30but he's gonna be tested tonight,
24:32at least on paper we expect Sula Sagawa to give this young man a success.
24:37I agree with you 1,000%.
24:40Sagawa just beat one of the top-rated fighters in his weight class,
24:45Villa, who's a tremendous boxer.
24:47Everybody had high hopes from him.
24:49However, Sagawa came in with his own plan.
24:52He don't care about any of the hype.
24:54He don't care about your record.
24:55He comes to fight, and he comes to win.
24:58He is playing with house money tonight,
25:00and Shushu definitely gonna have his hands full against Sagawa.
25:03Don't want to count out the underdog.
25:05In this same building, it proved what he was capable of doing,
25:09and you do not want to overlook him.
25:12And Shushu said, look, guys, other people may be overlooking him.
25:15I was in the building when he did what he did against the man
25:19who's only loss was to Emmanuel Navarrete
25:22and who had three amateur wins against the fighter,
25:25the caliber of Shakur Stevenson.
25:27That is who Sagawa beat inside the ring as a pro.
25:34Man, I want to give a shout-out, man.
25:36I know my guys, they watching right now.
25:40They watch every broadcast, boxing gyms.
25:43My man Ryan, the whole family, the whole nation, man.
25:47What's going on? I know you guys support me.
25:50Appreciate you guys. Keep doing what you guys are doing, man.
25:53Educating the fans.
26:09Castaneda trying to land that right hand,
26:11but Rodriguez using his hands to set up his fists.
26:17Nice body work though from Castaneda.
26:23Castaneda's slowing the pace down just with pressure.
26:27Rodriguez needs to get on his jab, start throwing more combinations.
26:32If he wants to get this stoppage, it's not going to be by one punch.
26:35Castaneda's not that guy. He needs to put punches to munches,
26:38twos and threes together, threes and fours together.
26:41Let his hands go.
26:45Canelo's only been stopped twice in six professional losses.
26:51See, just one, two shots. Give me a little bit more.
26:55Come underneath, come around. You got to surprise him with shots.
26:59Not shots that he can see, but shots that he don't see.
27:04And change the tempo. We talk about guys becoming predictable.
27:09You know what happens? Some fighters will get used to it.
27:14That's my guy right there.
27:16Them eyes waiting. Hey, you better stop.
27:20That's my guy.
27:22Steve Willis. Yeah, Steve Willis, man.
27:25Love him.
27:27Very animated.
27:29He's a meme.
27:30Hell yeah.
27:34If someone has fun refereeing a fight, it's Steve Willis.
27:39And he's good at what he does.
27:40Yeah, he stays out of the way. Look at him.
27:43He doesn't intervene.
27:45And you know what? Look at his energy.
27:47Just chill. A lot of referees are running around the ring trying to find position.
27:52And he's like, I'm just going to stroll my way into a good position.
27:55Stay out of your way. Stay out of Aladdin's way as he's trying to direct.
28:07Shushu Carrington opens up our ESPN broadcast at 10.30.
28:11He's with Mark Regal in the locker room.
28:16You're right. I'm here with the mayor of New York City, Bruce Carrington.
28:22Listen, you said something interesting in the fighter meeting yesterday.
28:26That the trained eye knows that I'm the best at 126.
28:30What do you mean by that?
28:32You know, when you look at just the style or the approach a person brings into the ring,
28:37you can see what their intentions are.
28:39And the level of the IQ, that alone supersedes a person's record.
28:44Or sometimes that accolades because sometimes that could be padded and look deceitful.
28:49What's the first thing you look for in a fighter?
28:52I look for their tenacity.
28:56And then sometimes I look for their bravery a little bit.
28:59And then if it's not where I expect it to be, then I'll bring them down.
29:02Speaking of bravery, Sula Sagawa just knocked off the number one contender.
29:06He's not a day in the park.
29:07Assess him.
29:09Yeah, he's very tenacious.
29:10And I know he's going to come to fight, especially with me.
29:14He's coming for a big win, got a lot of confidence, but it's my job to take him down.
29:17Thank you from New York City.
29:20You're a New York City, Mark. This is where you came up.
29:23And if anybody knows New York, it's our Mark Kriegel.
29:27He knows that Brownsville swagger, Tim, that you mentioned.
29:31Andre Ward always mentions, man, when you were in the amateurs, you're fighting a kid from this area.
29:36And you're like, oh man, they got an attitude about them.
29:38Attitude, swagger, they can all fight, can box very well.
29:43Yeah, you knew you were in a fight when you matched up with them.
29:47For sure.
29:48For sure.
29:49For sure.
29:51Round eight of a scheduled ten round fight.
29:53Elvis Rodriguez could be pitching a shutout here against Kendo Castaneda.
29:57He cannot get complacent, though, against the dangerous fighter out of San Antonio, Texas.
30:03Who started boxing at age ten, followed his brother to the gym, Tim.
30:07Then he would take three buses to the Westside gym.
30:11Had 115 amateur fights with Kendo Castaneda, so he's always had the hunger to become a fighter.
30:17And he also had the hunger, or his mother projected, that he was going to be, when he was a young kid,
30:26she told him that he was going to be trained by Freddie Roach.
30:30They went into a store, they saw Freddie and Manny Pacquiao on a shirt.
30:35The mom bought the shirt, told him to his face at a young age and said,
30:39hey, one day he's going to be your trainer.
30:42And now Elvis Rodriguez is in the corner with Freddie Roach.
30:48For now, he's in the center of the ring alone against Kendo Castaneda.
30:54And the pace has really slowed down, and you mentioned that Castaneda was bringing that pace down.
31:00Step back.
31:02Watch your head, it's broke for you.
31:10Palanko, Palanko.
31:13Nice combination from Kendo.
31:15Palanko, Palanko.
31:16That's like when people start to wave at Dodgers Stadium.
31:19Stop it.
31:20No, you know what, man, Palanko tonight was, I'm telling you, you look,
31:24I mean out of all the rest of the 140 pounders,
31:28I think Palanko looked serious.
31:30I wouldn't have that conversation.
31:32I wouldn't mind seeing Palanko against this man right here, Castaneda.
31:35Let's see what he can do against this.
31:37Palanko sitting there watching the fight.
31:39Oh, you know what, it can be, I mean, it can be a fight that top rank can do.
31:45For sure.
31:46Now you see Elvis trying to dig with that right hook.
31:49He's bleeding from the mouth, baby.
31:51That shot woke up Elvis Rodriguez, and he wants to get Kendo out of here.
31:56No, you know what it was, I think it was me saying Palanko here.
31:59No, I'm just kidding.
32:03You got that kind of power, my friend.
32:07Yeah, Elvis, Elvis, I don't know if he got hit with big shots tonight.
32:11I don't recall, but his face is swelling a lot.
32:15I mean, some fighters have really sensitive skin, man.
32:22Eight rounds in the books.
32:24Schedule for ten, that's this into Friday.
32:30Good job.
32:42The doctor's going over there every round and checking this guy out.
32:45Let's finish this guy.
32:47You put your hands together, it's over, okay?
32:49Yeah.
32:50Alright?
32:52Combinations together, okay?
32:55Body, head, knees, all you.
33:01Some of you look at this and y'all might say,
33:03Ah, Tim, you're losing your mind.
33:05But this is what I see right here.
33:07You see that sneeze right there?
33:09You see how he just blew out his nose?
33:11Guess what that does?
33:12It swells up your eyes.
33:14That's what it is.
33:15You got to understand, that's all connected.
33:17His eyes are already swollen.
33:19Two more rounds.
33:20However, you don't want to do that.
33:22You want to breathe out of your mouth.
33:24You want to let that nose be what it is.
33:26And you don't want to be sneezing and blowing out like that
33:29because it will swell your eyes.
33:49Back.
33:52Back.
33:55Back.
34:01Back.
34:04Back.
34:08Back.
34:10Back.
34:12Back.
34:17Back.
34:20Back.
34:23Back.
34:25Elvis is, again, throwing at the same pace.
34:30Looking for the same shots.
34:32You need a little bit more creativity
34:34if he's going to stop this man right here.
34:37Casting Gato.
34:39Everything doesn't always have to be hard.
34:41I understand you're in the hurt business.
34:43You want to hurt your opponents.
34:45However, you can slow the pace down.
34:47You can start touching your opposition.
34:49Just placing shots.
34:50He has heavy enough hands
34:52to be able to land shots
34:54and set up other shots
34:56off of it.
34:57Yeah, Freddie Roach did send him out.
35:00But, again, every shot is the same.
35:02And, fighters, we get used to the same resistance.
35:07Even the punch resistance you can get used to.
35:10You can almost feel or anticipate
35:12which punch he's going to be loading up with next.
35:15Casting Gato.
35:16If you want to hurt him,
35:17you've got to hit him with something he's not expecting.
35:20Yeah.
35:21I mean, that's what you've got to do.
35:23But it's been the same rhythm
35:25from Elvis Rodriguez.
35:27And I think that's what we talked about.
35:29What makes fighters special is
35:31when they have the capacity
35:33to switch their pace up.
35:35To pick it up at certain moments.
35:38To switch the cadence of their punches.
35:40And Elvis is very predictable here.
35:43And he's been that way since round one.
35:45And don't get me wrong.
35:47I'm going to give him credit.
35:49He's dominating this fight.
35:51He's winning this fight.
35:53Without a doubt.
35:54And we just pick it.
35:56However, it will help him
35:58if he was to learn a little bit more
36:01from that aspect you just talked about.
36:04Yeah, but we talked about
36:06how this is going to be a comparison
36:08of these three fighters at 140 pounds.
36:11Head and shoulders above in his performance
36:13from what we saw
36:15comparatively to Tiger Johnson
36:17and what we're seeing from Elvis Rodriguez.
36:32Let's listen to Castaneda's corner
36:34with Ronnie Cantu.
36:37Nasty cut. That is a nasty cut.
36:40What a great job they've done in that corner.
37:07Let's go.
37:08This is your round. Let's go.
37:30Tenth and final round.
37:32And Kendo Castaneda coming out
37:34against Elvis Rodriguez
37:36who has been dominant in this fight so far.
37:47You know, I'm hearing all these young fighters.
37:49They all...
37:51They see themselves in the rankings.
37:53I know. I'm number this. I'm number that.
37:56And I should get a title shot.
37:58I need a title shot.
38:00And they're trying to rush the process, right?
38:02Yep.
38:03But what they need to understand is
38:05that your rankings
38:08or your performance
38:10have to match your rankings.
38:12I don't care if you rank number three.
38:14It still don't match your performance.
38:16Rankings, again.
38:18Overnight, I was number 15 overnight.
38:21I became number two in the division.
38:23How? How?
38:25A little bit of money.
38:27That's it.
38:28You know, rankings is when
38:30you have a talented guy.
38:32You have a promotional company
38:34that is, you know,
38:36in bed with the sanctioning body.
38:39And that's the way you're able to get ranked.
38:41Yes, they give you credit
38:43on the type of fighters you face.
38:45However, you can move easily
38:47to the number one spot.
38:49Easily.
38:51Without fighting anybody.
38:54Nice combination here
38:56by Elvis Rodriguez.
38:59No finishing instinct so far.
39:01But the point I'm making,
39:03Leonardo, is that
39:05show us
39:07why you deserve a title fight.
39:09Show us.
39:11Against this competition,
39:13you have to dominate.
39:15And if you dominate this competition,
39:17they gotta step you up in the class.
39:19You dominate that competition,
39:21then they have to step you up in class.
39:23And by that time, now they're saying,
39:25you're ready for a championship.
39:27You know, you talked about fighters losing rankings.
39:29Floyd Cashflow Diaz
39:31went from rank 25th
39:33to 25th in his 11th fight.
39:35After his 12th pro fight,
39:37he was dropped to number 27.
39:39So it can regress if your performance
39:41is not on par with what
39:43is expected of you as that ranked fighter.
39:49But there's guys who give resistance.
39:51And Kendo Castaneda, you gotta give him
39:53all the credit in the world.
39:55His stepdaughter could've called this fight off a long time ago
39:57just based on that nasty cut
39:59that he suffered in the 5th round, Tim.
40:01And yet, here he is, showing
40:03his courage, his heart,
40:05showing his stepdaughter
40:07what it's about
40:09in terms of fighting through adversity.
40:11Yeah, it's ring IQ.
40:13You gotta have the tactics.
40:15You gotta do a technique. He has experience as well.
40:17He knows when to do certain things.
40:19He knows how to hide inside that ring.
40:21Has a good poker face as well.
40:23Can take a big shot.
40:25Absolutely.
40:31There it is.
40:33And he survived the stoppage.
40:35And Elvis didn't turn it up either.
40:39So,
40:41you see what he did.
40:43And we're gonna
40:45talk about what we saw from the best
40:47140 pound prospects that Top Rank
40:49put on tonight's
40:51fight card, but
40:53overall, what are your thoughts on
40:55what he did and what he failed to do tonight?
40:57Um,
40:59he won the fight, without a doubt.
41:01But, you know,
41:03you fail to impress
41:05at the end of the day.
41:07Matchmakers look at that.
41:09Your promoter looks at that
41:11and they say, okay, what do we do with you now?
41:13We had a guy in there.
41:15If you'd have blew through him, then we're moving you up.
41:17Now it's like, ah,
41:19you know what, we still gotta
41:21take our time with him.
41:23And that's a situation that Elvis is in.
41:25He's been at this for some time now.
41:27And you wanna continue to see growth
41:29over and over and over.
41:31He looked a little bit better, but I'll tell you this.
41:33If he
41:35doesn't have more grit and toughness
41:37in his ability,
41:39with his ability, and if he don't take more chances,
41:41he's
41:43not gonna go very far.
41:45You know, 140 is a stacked division.
41:47They got some
41:49really talented fighters there.
41:51Tim, not only that, the up-and-comers are stacked,
41:53but how about fights like
41:55that could have happened for
41:57Elvis in February? Then there was
41:59mentioned as a potential
42:01opponent, but with performances
42:03like this, maybe you actually get closer
42:05to getting a world title challenge
42:07instead of by going up in the rankings.
42:09Let's send it up to Mark Chinook. We'll have that conversation
42:11after the decision.
42:13Ladies and gentlemen, here inside the theater at Madison
42:15Garden, after 10 rounds, we go to the judges'
42:17scorecards for the official decision.
42:19Mark Constantino
42:21and Tony Paolillo
42:23both have it 100-90.
42:25Glenn Feldman scores it
42:2799-91.
42:29All in favor of your winner by
42:31unanimous decision,
42:33Elvis, the Dominican
42:35Kid, Rodriguez!
42:37All right,
42:39so he allowed
42:41his opponent to go
42:43the distance, but it's
42:45something that Kendo Castaneda has to get
42:47credit for because he
42:49is a rugged fighter.
42:51So, look, three...