Rodriguez to fight on
January 17th in Biloxi
January 11, 2009
(JAN 11) – Edwin “La Bomba”
Rodriguez, former 2-time national amateur champion, fights Saturday
night (January 17) in his first scheduled 8-round bout against Brad
Austin on the off-televised HBO undercard, headlined by Andre Berto-Luis
Collazo WBC welterweight title fight, at the Beau Rivage Resort Casino
in Biloxi, Mississippi.
“I’m excited,” Rodriguez said between training sessions about his
upcoming match. “I can’t wait to show everyone my talents. It’s another
stepping stone towards becoming world champion. The HBO people and a lot
of other influential people in boxing will be there and I’m going to
showcase my talents.”
The Dominican Republic-born Rodriguez (8-0, 5 KOs) hasn’t fought since
August 22, when he won all six rounds versus Marcus Upshaw (8-2), but
during that inactive period he often sparred with world title
challengers Peter Manfredo, Jr. and Elvin Ayala, as well as Jessie
Brinkley. Mississippi will be the fifth different state Edwin’s already
fought in as a pro.
“My inactivity won’t be an issue,” Edwin promised. “I was very busy with
eight fights in my first year as a pro. I took off a few months but I
was constantly in and out of the gym. I’d only been with my trainer,
Peter Manfredo, Sr., for about eight months and we needed more time to
know each other. I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ll be working inside a
lot more. I was getting caught with rights pulling away with my chin up.
That was a bad amateur habit we had to clean up.
“We’re fighting at 168 pounds but, I’m 6-0 feet tall and can fight at
168 or 160. I’m capable of winning at either weight, but my first goal
is to be middleweight champ of the world. Eventually, I’ll probably
fight as a super middleweight, but right now I’m fighting this one at
168 and then coming back down to 160.”
Austin (8-5, 2 KOs), fighting out of Tennessee, figures to be a solid
test for Rodriguez, largely due to his experience fighting top prospects
such as Carlos DeLeon, Jr., James McGirt, Jr. and Peter “Kid Chocolate”
Quillon.
“Last year was great for Edwin,” Rodriguez’ manager Larry Army noted.
“We decided as a team for Edwin to take off four months to review his
fights and hone his skills. We’re thrilled that Edwin is starting 2009
on such a high profile card, his first on an HBO or world title fight
undercard. He’s going to learn a lot from this experience, which will
help him develop even more. We’re confident that 2009 will start as 2008
ended with him undefeated and one more step closer to his goal of
becoming world champion.” Source: PR/Bob Trieger -[Posted by WBAN]
