Jonathan Rodriguez aims to carry the momentum from an impressive win in his last bout.

Rodriguez will face Antonio Vargas in a compelling crossroads bout on February 24, Matchroom Boxing announced Friday afternoon. The 12-round bout will take place at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida and will be part of a card headlined by the clash between unbeaten super middleweights Edgar Berlanga and Padraig McCrory.

Both fights will stream live on DAZN (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

The Rodriguez-Vargas fight is a world title bantamweight elimination fight. The winner becomes the mandatory challenger to WBA world titleholder Takuma Inoue.

The 24-year-old Rodriguez (17-1-1, 7 knockouts), who is originally from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, last fought on November 18, scoring a first-round knockout victory over former WBA world junior bantamweight titleholder Kal Yafai. Rodriguez took a major step-up in opposition against Yafai after facing mostly modest opposition.

In his previous fight on August 4, which took place in his current hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Rodriguez defeated gatekeeper Marvin Solano by unanimous decision. Rodriguez is unbeaten in his last 10 bouts since losing by knockout to Manuel Flores in September 2020. 

Rodriguez is promoted by Marshall Kauffman and managed by Trifon Petrov. 

Vargas (17-1 1 No Contest, 9 KOs), who resides in nearby Kissimmee, defeated former world titleholder Hernan ‘Tyson’ Marquez by unanimous decision in his last bout on October 27. Prior to fighting to a no-contest against Francisco Pedroza Portillo on May 23, Vargas stopped Michell Banquez in round five of an entertaining and action fight on February 25. 

Besides the no-contest, Vargas has won his last seven fights since an upset loss to Jose Maria Cardenas in May 2019.

The 27-year-old once fought under the Top Rank banner after representing the United States at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Matchroom Boxing formally announced the co-main event between unbeaten lightweight prospect and amateur standout Andy Cruz against Brayan Zamarripa in a 10-round bout.

Cruz (2-0, 1 KO), who is originally from Matanzas, Cuba and now living and training in Miami, Florida, knocked out Jovanni Straffon in the third round.

Zamarripa (14-2, 5 KOs) lost by split-decision to fringe lightweight contender Angel Fierro on September 15. In his last bout on December 16, which took place in his hometown of Ensenada, Mexico, Zamarripa stopped journeyman Geovanni de Jesus Godinez in the eighth round.

Also on the DAZN stream, welterweight contender Shakhram Giyasov will square off against Pablo Cesar Cano of Mexico City in a 12-round WBA world title elimination bout.

Giyasov (14-0, 9 KOs), who is originally from Bukhara, Uzbekistan and now resides in Brooklyn, New York, defeated Harold Calderon by unanimous decision in his last bout on June 17. The 30-year-old is currently ranked No. 8 by The Ring at 147 pounds.

Cano (35-8-1, 25 KOs) last fought on October 4, stopping Zachary Ochoa in the fifth round of an action fight. The 34-year-old has won five of his last six fights, including victories over Jorge Linares, Ruslan Madiyev, and Roberto Ortiz.

Also on the Matchroom Boxing card, flyweight prospect Yankiel Rivera (4-0, 2 KOs) of Puerto Rico will face Mexico’s Andy Dominguez (10-0, 6 KOs) in a 10-round bout. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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