Unbeaten Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez Set to explode in 2010

Posted on | December 3, 2009 | No Comments

WORCESTER, Mass. (Dec. 3, 2009) – Unbeaten Dominican sensation Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez, rated No. 13 by the NABA, completed a perfect year with an impressive TKO win November 19 against veteran super middleweight Brian “The Assassin” Norman (17-9, 5 KOs) in Rochester, New York.

Now, the 24-year-old Rodriguez (13-0, 9 KOs) is ready for a breakout year in 2010, in which he plans to capture at least one regional title, as well as position himself for a world title shot in 2011.

Rodriguez, who lives and fights out of Worcester (MA), has an unusual, yet promising 2010, winning five fights (4 KOs) and fully recovering from surgery on both elbows to rid him of bones spurs. “Going through surgery set me back a little,” Edwin explained, “I bounced back, though, and continued where right we had left off. Because of the time I missed, I didn’t accomplish as much as I had hoped, not having as many fights, but I’m still undefeated and continue to learn from each fight. I had to get fixed and we did.”

Norman, who went the distance with current WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal and unbeaten world title contender Joe Greene, was another good test for Rodriguez.

“Norman was a tough opponent, very strong, but I fought my fight,” Edwin said. “What you see is what you got from him. He’d throw a right and I’d counter-punch. His style was made for me. I did what I wanted throughout the entire fight and couldn’t have put on a better performance. I turned in a strong, very good performance.

“Every fight I feel like I’m a different fighter because I go against quality, experienced guys. I adapt and learn in order to move forward. Without learning from the (Darnell) Boone fight (Rodriguez won an 8-round bout by unanimous decision), I don’t knockout this guy (Norman) so easily. This year I’ve learned a lot, especially how to sit on my punches, focusing on hitting hard instead of tapping. I’ve corrected those bad habits from my amateur days.”

Rodriguez (84-9 amateur record), 2005 USA Boxing National Championships and 2006 U.S. National Golden Gloves Tournament winner, is equally adept fighting as a middleweight or super middleweight. The lightest he has fought as a pro, a however, is 162.

“We’re bringing in a nutritionist to see if I can be strong fighting at 160 pounds,” Rodriguez spoke about his ideal weight class. “I’m 6’ 1” and feel strong. I feel I can make 160 and the middleweight division is wide open. Fighting at 168 would be tougher because everybody’s (names) there.

“Next year is going to set me up for the top 10 in the major boxing organizations. I plan on winning a national or regional title by the end of 2010, which would position me for a world title shot in 2011. That’s the plan. We will continue fighting tough opponent because the only way to get better is to be successful. We don’t want fights against hand-picked opponents for easy wins. There’s nothing to learn that way.”

In addition to going a perfect 5-0 and overcoming his elbow problems, Rodriguez received valuable national exposure in 2009, profiled in “New Faces” of The Ring magazine, and shown “knocking out heartburn” in a Prilosec commercial.

“I think 2010 is going to be the year that Edwin attains national prominence as a top contender,” Rodriguez’ manager, Larry Army, added. “With DiBella Entertainment behind us, we believe that the world will soon see what we know….Edwin Rodriguez is the real deal! Our hope is to showcase Edwin on major boxing networks including ESPN, Showtime and HBO.”

Go online to www.edwinrodriguezboxing.com for more information about Rodriguez.

-ER-