Angelino Cordova, Francisco Rodriguez make weight for WBC eliminator
Angelino Cordova and Francisco “Chihuas” Rodriguez Jr. made weight ahead of their WBC flyweight title eliminator on Saturday night.
Cordova weighed 111.6 pounds on Friday while Rodriguez came in slightly lighter at 111.2 pounds ahead of their 12-round bout at the Town and Country Hotel in San Diego, California. The fight will determine who moves closer to a shot at unified WBC/WBA flyweight champ Ricardo Sandoval, whose June 6 mandatory defense against Galal Yafai was postponed due to a Yafai injury.
The No Boxing No Life-promoted card will air live on Azteca Texas’ YouTube channel, with the broadcast beginning at 7:45 p.m. ET.
Cordova (19-0-2, 12 KOs), a Venezuela native who now resides in Roselle Park, N.J., refueled afterward with some lentil soup, followed by steak. He hopes a win over the former unified strawweight champion from Monterrey, Mexico earns him a third world title opportunity.
“I invite everyone to watch because tomorrow will be a war!” said Cordova, 30.
For Cordova, this fight is also a return to familiar hands. He is back with his original U.S. team for this assignment, with head trainer Percy Gayanilo and Mervin Luciano working his corner. Cordova has also returned to training at Park Elite Boxing Academy in Roselle Park, N.J., where he first trained for his breakout wins over Axel Vega and Angel Acosta in 2022 and 2023, respectively. After a no-contest against then-WBC flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez in 2024 and a stint under trainer Ismael Salas in Las Vegas, he returned earlier this year to New Jersey to rejoin the team that first made him a contender.
In his last fight, Cordova overcame a questionable knockdown call and a point deduction to hold the unbeaten Yankiel Rivera to a majority draw for the WBA interim flyweight title.
Gayanilo believes the reunion has brought out the best version of Cordova.
“We feel ready, we feel confident that he’s going to win,” Gayanilo said. “He’s in the best shape that I’ve ever seen. In sparring he’s killing everybody and he’s gonna do the same to this guy.”
Rodriguez (39-6-1, 27 KOs) has fought just about every major fighter in the lower weight classes.
A former IBF/WBO 105-pound champion, Rodriguez has wins over Merlito Sabillo and Katsunari Takayama, while losing to Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Donnie Nietes, Kazuto Ioka and Junto Nakatani.
Rodriguez’s inclusion in this WBC eliminator is not without controversy. He is currently serving a two-year ban in the United Kingdom after a post-fight drug test following his 2025 bout with Galal Yafai, which Rodriguez originally won by unanimous decision, returned adverse findings for prohibited stimulants. UK Anti-Doping listed the substances as octodrine and its metabolite heptaminol, as well as oxilofrine, and imposed a ban running through July 29, 2027.
His fight before that, a unanimous decision over Josue Jesus Morales in San Antonio, Texas in December of 2024, was also later changed to a no decision.