By Jake Donovan

Marcos Villasana Jr. made the most of a potentially lackluster situation, chasing down and eventually stopping Jorge Luis Rodriguez in eight rounds Saturday evening in front of a partisan crowd in Acapulco, Mexico.

The streaking lightweight contender – fighting in his hometown for the third straight time – was tasked with pressing the action against an unwilling Rodriguez, who was fighting outside of Argentina for just the third time in his career. His past two road trips both ended on an accidental foul – a three-round no-contest versus Jonathan Maicelo in Oct. ’13 in Peru, and a Dec. ’14 four-round technical decision defeat to former lightweight titlist Paulus Moses in Namibia.

This particular night would end in misery for the 35-year old Argentine journeyman despite doing his best to stink out the joint. Villasana Jr. piled up points as Rodriguez (21-13-1, 3KOs) fought in reverse, all but giving away just about every round save for the occasional exchange whenever the local favorite was able to work his way inside.

After building up a sizeable lead through seven, Villasana Jr. turned up the intensity. A right hand shot was enough to not only prevent Rodriguez from running but also stopping him dead in his tracks, dropping him to the canvas for the bout’s lone knockdown and ultimately its ending.

Villasana Jr. improves to 21-6 (13KOs) with the win, his sixth straight, The streak also includes a 12-round nod over Nery Saguilan in May to avenge a heartbreaking 10-round loss in March ’15, the last time he’s tasted defeat. His previous five wins have helped propel him to a Top 15 lightweight ranking with the World Boxing Council (WBC) and likely moving up even more following Saturday’s outcome given the bout was sanctioned as a WBC Latino title fight.

The bout aired live on Televisa in Mexico.

Twitter: @JakeNDaBox_v2