Joshua James Pagan made a strong first impression on his ancestral home island of Puerto Rico on Saturday, defeating veteran Haskell Rhodes by unanimous decision at Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan.
Pagan (11-0, 4 KOs) won all ten rounds of their lightweight bout, 100-90, on one card, while two judges found Rhodes (31-7-1, 16 KOs) a single round. to give to settle on. scores of 99-91.
The bout was a solid booster test for the 24-year-old Pagan of Grand Rapids, Mich., who was extended the distance in his first ten-round assignment and had to eat some solid punches from the grizzled veteran, including some against the ropes as the final bell rang.
“Haskell Rhodes is a tough opponent. I knew coming in he would be very durable. I feel like I made some mistakes there, I got a little too excited when I hurt him, but he survived and it was my fault. I have to go back to the drawing board and work on it,” said Pagan, a 2021 U.S. national champion.
Pagan, who is five inches taller than the 37-year-old Rhodes of Oklahoma City at 5’10”, survived an early onslaught from late replacement opponent Rhodes before consolidating control as the rounds progressed. Rather than box from distance, Pagan was content to meet Rhodes in the center of the ring, throwing short punches inside Rhodes’ wider shots to support the shorter fighter. Pagan landed the best punch of the fight in the sixth, when a right hand rocked Rhodes and put him on the defensive.
The win was the second consecutive meaningful victory of the year for Pagan, whose last fight was in May when he defeated the previously undefeated Roger Hilley by unanimous decision.
Rhodes, whose biggest claim to fame was being a longtime sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao, saw his two-fight winning streak snapped, losing for the first time since his knockout loss to Antonio Perez in Miami last December.
The fight led to a Salita Promotions card that aired live on DAZN.
In other results, Juan Carrillo (13-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated and defeated Gilbert Lenin Castillo (25-6-1, 19 KOs) by unanimous decision in their ten-round light heavyweight bout. The scores were 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92, all for the 32-year-old Carrillo from Barranquilla, Colombia.
Also in action, hometown favorite Kiria Tapia (5-0) won a unanimous decision over Beata Dudek (4-5, 4 KOs) of Hungary. Tapia was credited with landing a takedown in the first round en route to winning by unanimous scores of 60-53 in their six rounds.
