Andreas Katzourakis used nonstop aggression and body punching to topple his second straight undefeated opponent with a unanimous decision Sunday over Misael Rodriguez at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
One judge scored the 10-round middleweight fight wide at 99-91, while the other two had it closer at 97-93 and 96-94, all for the 28-year-old Katzourakis, of Athens, Greece, who improved to 17-0 (11 KOs).
Rodriguez, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist from Chihuahua, Mexico, dropped to 16-1 (8 KOs) with the defeat.
After Rodriguez controlled the first round, Katzourakis pushed the pace more in the second round, getting inside and using his superior hand speed to rip to the body of the taller fighter. Katzourakis continued to get the better of the inside fighting in the third, pushing Rodriguez back with his lower center of gravity and digging the left hook to the body. The pace and pattern continued on through the sixth, when Rodriguez, who was still making himself a part of the rounds, began to find some separation to land clean rights. Rodriguez continued his momentum into the seventh as he used uppercuts to split the Katzourakis guard and open his opponent up to combinations.
Rodriguez continued to have a slight edge into the eighth and ninth, at least in comparison to how Katzourakis dominated early. But Katzourakis never fully gave away control, always answering back, even when Rodriguez landed eye-catching punches. The two fighters traded the momentum back and forth in the 10th, making it the toughest round to score.
Katzourakis held a 255-223 advantage in connected punches, anchored primarily by his 143-49 edge in body punching.
Katzourakis, who was fighting for the first time since his seventh-round stoppage of Roberto Cruz Jnr in May 2025, said trainer Ronnie Shields knew how to light a fire under him to get going after a slow first round.
“After a year layoff, I needed three minutes, apparently,” he said. “When I got to the corner, Ronnie always knows how to activate me, how to pressure me and how to have me do the right thing. He basically told me this guy has nothing for me. He's a great fighter, don't get me wrong. But he knew: Stand behind the jab, keep applying pressure, keep working, and we will come out victorious.”
Afterwards, Katzourakis, who has a win over Brandon Adams (who has wins over both of tonight’s main-event fighters, Serhii Bohachuk and Shane Mosley Jnr), said he wants to face the winner of that fight on a future Zuffa Boxing card.
Ivan Ortiz made the most of his US debut, scoring a close upset of Justin Viloria in a clash of unbeaten lightweights. Two judges had the fight 76-75, while the third had it 78-73, all for Ortiz, 13-0-2 (9 KOs), of Guadalajara, Mexico, sending Viloria, 12-1 (8 KOs), of Whittier, California, to his first defeat.
Early on, the pressure of the southpaw Viloria was the defining factor as he walked down Ortiz to land his right hook to the head and body. The fight began to turn in the third, and became more pronounced in the fourth and fifth, as the longer-limbed Ortiz was able to time Viloria’s aggression with straight rights, which drew blood from Viloria’s nose.
Viloria had a better sixth round as he rocked his opponent with a straight left that forced Ortiz to take a walk, and he appeared to be on the verge of taking over the fight in the seventh as Ortiz seemed to be fading. All of that changed when Ortiz was able to land a looping right around the guard of Viloria that put him down for the first time as a professional.
The two fought on even terms in the eighth as Ortiz landed his straight right early and Viloria closed the round with a pair of hard lefts.
“He is a very tough opponent,” Ortiz said of Viloria afterwards. “We knew that the last rounds were going to be decisive.”
Ortiz, who like his opponent is 21, has been a pro since 2022.
Viloria had a slight edge in connected punches, 162-144.
Suray Mahmutovic had to get off the canvas in the second round to edge Raphael Monny by split decision in an eight-round light heavyweight fight. One judge had it 76-75 for the aggressor Monny, but he was overruled by scores of 76-75 and 77-74 for Mahmutovic, 9-1-1 (6 KOs), of Pittsburg, California.
Mahmutovic, 27, had to get off the floor after a shot that drifted to the back of his head scored a knockdown. Otherwise, it was mostly Mahmutovic scoring from the outside as the 6ft 4ins boxer sent France’s 25-year-old Monny, now 9-1 (3 KOs), to his first defeat.
Da’Mazion Vanhouter barely had to break a sweat to stay undefeated against Raphael Murphy, blasting out the overmatched Chicagoan at 1:06 of the first round.
Vanhouter, 12-0 (9 KOs), hurt Murphy, 18-2 (14 KOs), with a pair of body shots that left the 40-year-old Murphy unable to defend himself from the barrage of punches that prompted Tony Weeks to step in.
Vanhouter, 21, of St. Petersburg, Florida, has now won both of his fights under Zuffa Boxing by stoppage.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
