LAS VEGAS – Omar Rosario remains perfect as a pro and with visions of capturing Olympic Gold later this year.
The unbeaten rookie from Caguas, Puerto Rico picked up his first knockout as a pro, halting Anaheim’s Uriel Villanueva in the second round of their ESPN+ televised opener Saturday evening at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rosario—who will represent Puerto Rico in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics later this summer—scored two knockdowns, the second of which put Villanueva down for the full ten count at 2:38 of round two.
Rosario consistently beat Villanueva to the jab, often following with a right hand over the top of his opponent’s guard. Villianueva enjoyed brief success with his left hook, only to leave himself open for a body attack from Rosario. The 23-year old landed a right hand to the body to produce the bout’s first knockdown.
Villanueva beat the count, only to get clipped with a right uppercut downstairs which put him down for the night as he falls to 1-1 (0KOs).
Rosario advances to 3-0 (1KOs). The amateur standout—who is managed by Tim VanNewhouse—opted to turn pro last summer, while still intent on representing Puerto Rico with hopes of bringing home Olympic Gold.
Rosario-Villanueva served as the opening bout of a seven-fight card, topped by WBC junior lightweight titlist Miguel Berchelt versus former featherweight beltholder Oscar Valdez (28-0, 22KOs).
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox