NEWARK, N.J. — Emmanuel Rodriguez bounced back from his first stoppage loss, punishing Gilberto Mendoza for a unanimous decision win at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, N.J. Two judges had the fight a shutout, 80-72, while the third scored it 79-73, all in favor of Rodriguez (14-2, 7 knockouts) of Newark by way of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico.

Rodriguez looked intent on making a point to his hometown fans, using his jab to push Mendoza back while punishing him with straight right hands and counter punches from all angles. Instead of potshotting and moving as he had been content to do n recent fights, “Salserito” Rodriguez sat down on his punches while keeping his defense tight.

Rodriguez, was coming off a seventh round stoppage loss to Carlos Mujica in May, in a fight that he says he admits he prepared poorly for, taking a trip to Puerto Rico just three weeks before the fight and losing 23 pounds to make the weight.

Promoter Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna of Rising Star Promotions says his plan is to make the rematch on his first card in 2024, which is targeted for late February or early March.

Junior middleweight Robert Terry (11-0-1, 4 KOs) of Jersey City earned a hard-fought unanimous decision in his six-round bout against Luis Midyael Sanchez (9-5, 6 KOs) of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Terry, who is best known for his eight-round draw against Raul Garcia in April on a ShoBox broadcast, earned the nod on all three scorecards, with two scoring it a shutout at 60-54 and the third having it 59-55.

Philadelphia junior welterweight Daiyaan Butt turned in one of his most complete performances of his five-year pro career, outboxing the rugged Jordan Rosario to a six-round unanimous decision. Two judges had it 60-53, while the third had it 59-54, all for Butt (16-2, 7 KOs).

The 26-year-old Butt, a graduate of the Fox School of Business at Temple University, handled his business off the jab, boxing and moving against Rosario (5-11, 1 KOs) of Jersey City. Rosario, who was coming off back-to-back upset wins over Nicky Vitone, never stopped applying pressure, landing effectively with his overhand right and body punches. Butt had more tools a his disposal, and scored the only knockdown of the fight in the third round with a counter right hand.

Butt said afterwards that it took him two rounds to get warmed up because the venue was chilly.

“After I got my distance down, my timing down, every time I dropped the right or a hook he was on spaghetti legs,” said Butt. “It was my fault, I should have capitalized better on it, I got a little too excited because the crowd got to me a little bit but overall I did what I had to do.”

Welterweight prospect Ghandi Romain (2-1, 2KOs) of Union City, NJ had a spectacular showing tonight, stopping Courtney Brown (1-2) in three rounds at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, NJ pic.twitter.com/3EUU7Sh9GG

— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) November 12, 2023

One of the sharpest performances of the night came early in the card, when Ghandi Romain (2-1, 2 KOs) pounded the overmatched Courtney Brown to a third round stoppage in their four-round welterweight bout. Romain, 26, of Union City, N.J. by way of Port-au-Prince, Haiti scored a knockdown in the first round with a powerful hook to the head-hook to the body combination.

The 33-year-old Brown (1-2) from Gary Ind. beat the count, but continued to absorb heavy punches to the midsection, including four straight in the second round, after which Romain landed a right hand over the top.

The fight continued to be one-sided before referee Eddie Claudio stepped in to stop the bout after Romain landed four straight hooks to the head.

Making his pro debut, Vladimir Dalton (1-0, 1 KO) of Linden, N.J. scored a unanimous decision win over DeJonFarrell-Francis (0-2) in a four-round light heavyweight catchweight bout. Dalton, 32, was a 2017 National golden Gloves finalist.