Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs. Virgil Akins (1st meeting)
Luis Rodriguez 147 lbs beat Virgil Akins 149 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
- Date: 1959-06-17
- Location: Exhibition Hall, Miami Beach, Florida, USA
- Referee: Cy Gottfried 98-93
- Judge: Fred Aaronson 99-92
- Judge: Carl Gardner 99-93
"A virtually unlimited boxing future beckoned today to unbeaten Cuban welterweight Luis Rodriguez, 22, after giving former champion Virgil (Honey Bear) Akins a solid drubbing to gain the unanimous decision in their nationally televised 10-round bout last night. The lopsided nature of Rodriguez' triumph, who was making his U.S. debut, left the future murky for the 32-year-old Akins of St. Louis, whose career has been sliding since he lost the crown last year to Don Jordan. There were no knockdowns but Rodriguez was pretty much in command from the 2nd round on. The Cuban was carrying the fight to Akins, and the ex-champ appeared to be seeking a one-punch explosion that would turn the fight his way." -United Press International
- Unofficial UPI scorecard - 99-93 Rodriguez
- The AP reported that Akins finished the fight with his left eye closed.
Post-fight comments
- "I'll fight some more and knock off a few more. I'll be back up again." -Virgil Akins
- "I don't appreciate these kinds of fights. I will put Akins in with any of the top 4 welterweights today, and he'll beat them all. I thought this kid, Rodriguez, would fight a little bit at least, but all he does is jump around and throw what he calls punches." -Eddie Yawitz, Akins' co-manager