Edwin Rodríguez (boxer)

Edwin Rodríguez
Statistics
Nickname(s) La Bomba
Rated at Light heavyweight
Super middleweight
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Reach 76 in (190 cm)
Nationality Dominican
Born (1985-05-05) May 5, 1985
Moca, Dominican Republic
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 30
Wins 28
Wins by KO 19
Losses 2

Edwin Rodríguez (born May 5, 1985) is a Dominican professional boxer who lives in Worcester, Massachusetts.[1]

Early life

Rodriguez moved to Worcester at age 13 with dreams of becoming the next great Dominican ballplayer. Winters in the Bay State made for a short baseball season and two years later, he abandoned the diamond for the ring.[2]

Amateur

Rodriguez had an 84–9 record and won the USA Boxing Championships 2005 and the National Golden Gloves 2006 as a middleweight (165 pounds). Rodriguez was training for the USA Olympic qualifiers for the 2008 Summer Olympics when his pregnant fiancee delivered twins born 16 weeks premature. Rodriguez chose to dedicate his time to his family and eventually lost in the final qualifier for the Olympic box-offs. Following the Boston Marathon bombing, Rodriguez revealed that he had previously sparred with suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2010[3] and expressed regret that he had "slowed down" when he had Tsarnaev hurting 2 rounds into their sparring session.[4]

Professional career

Rodriguez, known by the nickname "La Bomba", turned pro in 2008 for promoter Lou DiBella.[5] Rodriguez is a world-ranked super middleweight (168 pounds). Rodriguez previously trained with Peter Manfredo Sr[6] and currently trains with Ronnie Shields. Rodriguez was managed by Larry Army Jr until the weeks before the Monaco Million Dollar Super Four Tournament, after which the two sides worked out an agreement[7] and announced an amicable split. Rodriguez signed with manager Al Haymon and are in negotiations for his next fight, likely against a title holder and on Showtime.[8] Rodriguez wears Rival gloves, is affiliated with Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC), and has included hypoxic boxing techniques in his training.[9] He has steadily developed into a world title contender with recent wins against previously undefeated Will Rosinsky, Don George,[10] and previously unbeaten Jason Escalera. Rodriguez is currently ranked No. 1 by the WBC, No. 3 by the IBF, No. 3 by the WBA, and No. 7 by The Ring magazine, and has been mentioned as a likely title contender in 2013 or 2014.

Monte-Carlo Million Dollar Super Four

Rodriguez won the Monaco Million Dollar Super Four Tournament by beating previously undefeated Ezequiel Maderna in a unanimous decision before an impressive first round TKO in the final against Denis Grachev to collect the winner's share on the 60/40 split of the $1 million purse.[11]

Victory over Craig Baker

On May 23, 2015 Rodriguez defeated Craig Baker by TKO in the third round of a Premier Boxing Champions bout in the Agganis Arena, Boston, televised live on NBC.[12]

Victory over Michael Seals

On November 13, 2015 Rodriguez defeated Michael Seals by TKO in the third round of a Premier Boxing Champions bout in the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Biloxi, Mississippi, televised live on Spike TV. Edwin Rodriguez barely survived the first round after being floored twice, but he quickly rallied to stop Michael Seals in the third round, using three knockdowns of his own.[13]

Professional boxing record

27 Wins (18 knockouts), 2 Losses, 0 Draws
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Loss 28-2 United States Thomas Williams, Jr. TKO 2 (10), 2:59 2016-04-30 United States StubHub Center, Carson, California
Win 28-1 United States Michael Seals TKO 3 (10), 0:24 2015-11-13 United States Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi
Win 27–1 United States Craig Baker TKO 3 (10), 2:22 2015-05-23 United States Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Win 26–1 United States Derrick Findley RTD 1 (10), 3:00 2014-12-11 United States Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California
Win 25–1 Haiti Azea Augustama UD 10 2014-10-18 United States Stubhub Center, Carson, California
Loss 24–1 United States Andre Ward UD 12 2013-11-16 United States Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, California Fight was originally for WBA (super) & The Ring Super-Middleweight titles, but Rodriguez failed to make weight
Win 24–0 Russia Denis Grachev TKO 1 (10), 2:50 2013-07-13 Monaco Salle des Etoiles, Monte-Carlo Monte-Carlo Million Dollar Super Four Tournament Final.
Win 23–0 Argentina Ezequiel Maderna UD 10 2013-03-30 Monaco Salle des Etoiles, Monte-Carlo Monte-Carlo Million Dollar Super Four Tournament Semifinal.
Win 22–0 United States Jason Escalera TKO 8 (10), 0:12 2012-09-29 United States Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut Retained USBA Super Middleweight title.
Win 21–0 United States Don George UD 10 2012-03-17 United States Madison Square Garden in New York, New York Won USBA Super Middleweight title.
Win 20–0 United States Will Rosinsky UD 10 2011-10-21 United States Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut
Win 19–0 United States Chris Traietti RTD 2 (10) 2011-08-20 United States Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts
Win 18–0 United States Aaron Pryor, Jr. UD 10 2011-01-14 United States Mallory Square in Key West, Florida
Win 17–0 United States James McGirt, Jr. UD 9 (10), 1:57 2010-11-05 United States Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota Won vacant USNBC Super Middleweight title.
Win 16–0 United States Ibahiem King TKO 5 (10), 1:06 2010-06-24 United States Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts
Win 15–0 United States Kevin Engel KO 6 (8), 2:35 2010-04-30 United States UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois
Win 14–0 United States George Armenta KO 1 (8), 0:47 2010-03-19 United States Choctaw Gaming Center in Durant, Oklahoma
Win 13–0 United States Brian Norman TKO 5 (8), 1:16 2009-11-19 United States Main Street Armory in Rochester, New York
Win 12–0 United States Darnell Boone UD 8 2009-10-03 United States Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island
Win 11–0 Puerto Rico Angel David Gonzalez TKO 3 (6), 1:09 2009-08-13 United States Frontier Field in Rochester, New York
Win 10–0 United States Patrick Thompson TKO 2 (8), 2:11 2009-03-19 United States Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts
Win 9–0 United States Brad Austin TKO 3 (8), 1:09 2009-01-17 United States Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi
Win 8–0 United States Marcus Upshaw UD 6 2008-08-22 United States Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island
Win 7–0 Mexico Hector Hernandez UD 6 2008-06-28 United States The Castle in Boston, Massachusetts
Win 6–0 United States Anthony Cannon TKO 4 (6), 1:07 2008-05-17 United States Freeport (I.B.E.W.) Hall in Dorchester, Massachusetts
Win 5–0 United States Michael Birthmark TKO 1 (4), 2:46 2008-05-03 United States Coeur d'Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho
Win 4–0 United States Jeffrey Osborne Jr TKO 4 (4), 2:55 2008-04-12 United States The Roxy in Boston, Massachusetts
Win 3–0 United States James North UD 4 2008-03-28 United States Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, New York
Win 2–0 United States Fitzgerald Johnson TKO 4 (4), 2:47 2008-02-08 United States The Castle in Boston, Massachusetts
Win 1–0 United States Samuel Ortiz Gomez TKO 1 (4), 1:22 2008-01-26 United States Mansfield SportsPlex in Mansfield, Massachusetts

Personal life

Rodriguez moved to the US from the Dominican Republic in 1998. Rodriguez credits working in his father's convenience store as instrumental in helping him learn English and adjust to life in the US.[14] Rodriguez is father to a twin son and daughter born 23 weeks into his fiancee's pregnancy in 2006. His children faced difficult odds as micro preemies born 16 weeks premature but persevered in large part to their parents' dedication and sacrifice.[15] Rodriguez and his fiancee married in 2010 and welcomed another son in 2013.

References

  1. ↑ "Pacquiao/Bradley 24/7; Hector Saldivia; Edwin Rodriguez". Boxing Scene. May 15, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Biography of Edwin Rodriguez". Premier Boxing Champions. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Dead Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev had boxing aspirations". Yahoo Sports. Apr 19, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Super middleweight Edwin Rodriguez wishes he'd finished Tamerlan Tsarnaev in ring". NY Daily News. April 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez". DiBella Entertainment. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Worcester's Edwin Rodriguez Fights Biggest Battle Outside Boxing Ring". NESN. Jul 5, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Edwin Rodriguez, Larry Army Jr Go Separate Ways". Boxing Scene. Jul 31, 2013.
  8. ↑ "New doors open for E. Rodriguez". ESPN. Aug 8, 2013.
  9. ↑ "And Then Came Summer: Edwin Rodriguez and Company Bring the Heat". Dog House Boxing. July 16, 2013.
  10. ↑ Satterfield, Lem (March 18, 2012). "Rodriguez out-points George over 10 rounds, rises to 21–0". The Ring. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Rodriguez finally makes a statement". ESPN. July 15, 2013.
  12. ↑ "James DeGale does early damage in win over Andre Dirrell". Premier Boxing Champions. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Rodriguez vs Seals". Premier Boxing Champions. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  14. ↑ "MTR: What's Next For Edwin Rodriguez". ESPN. July 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Overcoming adversity is a Rodriguez trait". Yahoo Sports. Oct 20, 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.