Kenneth Sims Jr. pulls off monster upset against Elvis Rodriguez (Video)

Kenneth Sims Jr. got a huge upset victory over prospect Elvis Rodriguez. Sims boxed masterfully to win by unanimous decision.

On the undercard of the May 22 boxing super bout between super lightweight champions Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez on ESPN, fellow super lightweight Kenneth Sims Jr. pulled off a massive upset against explosive prospect Elvis Rodriguez.

Sims (16-2-1, 5 KOs) wasn’t expected to win this fight. He had heavy odds against him, but he was the superior boxer on this night.

Sims is an experienced boxer who sparred the likes of Manny Pacquiao, but two losses on his record and his lack of knockout power had just about everybody doubting his chances. He proved all the doubters wrong.

From the opening bell, Sims controlled the distance against Rodriguez with his jab. Rodriguez fought cautiously at the start and never put his foot on the gas.

Kenneth Sims Jr. used his boxing wisdom to outperform the KO artist Elvis Rodriguez

Sims is an orthodox fighter, while Rodriguez is a southpaw. Southpaws usually have the advantage in that situation, but not in this case. Sims had the superior footwork, and he kept his left lead leg outside of Rodriguez’s all night. That allowed Sims better positioning to land his jab and counter Rodriguez.

Rodriguez (11-1-1, 10 KOs) is known for his knockout punching power. He knocked out all of his opponents except for two going into his contest with Sims, but he was trying to land one shot instead of trying to score with combinations. That was a mistake.

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The judges returned scores of 76-76 and two of 78-74 for the Chicagoan Sims, giving him the majority decision victory. This is by far the biggest wins of Sims’ career. People had high hopes for Rodriguez, who Freddie Roach trains, but Sims dumped cold water on those hopes.

Sims is suddenly a player at super lightweight, while Rodriguez has to go back to the drawing board.