Paddy Barnes’ quick ascension through the flyweight ranks got him a world title shot, but a body shot from Cristofer Rosales dashed Barnes’ hopes of winning a title in his home country.
Rosales made quick work of Barnes, knocking him out with a body shot in the fourth round to retain the WBC flyweight title. The fight, which took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland and was headlined by Carl Frampton’s interim WBO title defense against Luke Jackson, ended with Barnes writhing on the ground unable to answer the referee’s 10-count with just mere seconds left in the round.
Barnes had traded shots with Rosales well throughout the fight, even pressuring Rosales to the ropes at times with numerous combinations. Barnes, a two-time Olympic medalist, had the momentum at certain points in the fight landing solid right hooks to the champion. But it was a right hand from Rosales to Barnes’ body that dropped him late in the fourth and as Barnes was left unsuccessfully trying to get back up before the referee reached the count of 10.
The challenger was unable to get back up and so Rosales won his second straight world title fight on foreign soil. This was Rosales’ first title defense since traveling to Japan earlier this year and upsetting knockout artist Daigo Higa with a ninth-round stoppage.
Although Barnes only debuted at the end of 2016 and fighting in five pro fights, the Belfast native won the WBO European and Intercontinental flyweight titles in his third and fifth pro fight, respectively, breaking into the WBC’s top 15 at 112 pounds.
