Nishida upsets Rodriguez, wins IBF 118lb belt

By Joe Koizumi

Unbeaten southpaw speedster IBF#1 Ryosuke Nishida (9-0, 1 KO), 118, astoundingly dethroned IBF bantamweight champ Emmanuel Rodriguez (22-3, 13 KOs), 117.75, by winning an upset unanimous decision (115-112 twice, 117-110) over twelve speedy rounds on Saturday in Osaka, Japan. Nishida, less experienced and less powerful, was an undoubted underdog, but produced such an upset with his cleverness and positiveness. Ryosuke, formerly a Kinki university amateur boxer...