Vasyl Lomachenko has successfully defended his WBO featherweight title with a ninth-round stoppage of Gamalier Rodriguez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The Ukrainian started cautiously but it was one-way traffic after the third round and he was on course for a routine win after dropping the challenger in the seventh.
Rodriguez, who was docked two points for holding and a low blow, recovered to see out the round, but was offering little in response to the constant barrage of punches coming from Lomachenko.
In the ninth, the former leading amateur connected with another body shot to score a second knockdown, and, on this occasion, Rodriguez failed to make the count.
Lomachenko extends his professional record to four wins from five outings.
