Undefeated professional Edwin Rodriguez of Worcester, Mass., moves up to a six-round bout for the first time when he faces rugged Luis Hodge May 17 in Dorchester, Mass. The 23-year-old Rodriguez, who was a two-time national amateur champion, has a professional record of 5-0 with four knockouts..
“I’m looking forward to fighting six rounds,” said the 6-foot Rodriguez. “That means those around me believe the same thing I do, that I’m making progress and ready to move up a little bit.”
“It’s time to put Edwin’s in six-rounders now,” says trainer Peter Manfredo Sr. “Every week in the gym, every fight he takes, he’s making great strides and getting better in all areas.”
“Edwin’s a quick study,” said Larry Army Jr., Rodriguez’s manager. “He’s learned and performed to the point that it’s time for six-round bouts. There’s no way we would rush him or move him along too quickly if we didn’t think he was prepared for this new challenge.”
This will be the sixth fight in just 16 weeks for the busy Rodriguez. He’s coming off a first-round knockout of Michael Birthmark May 3 in Worley, Idaho; a fourth-round technical knockout of Jeffrey Osborne Jr. April 12 in Boston; a one-sided unanimous decision over veteran James North March 28 in Salamanca, N.Y.; a fourth-round knockout of Fitzgerald Johnson Feb. 8 in Boston; and a first-round knockout of Samuel Ortiz Gomez Jan. 26 in Mansfield, Mass.
Rodriguez plans on keeping active, with another bout tentatively scheduled for June 18 in his hometown of Worcester.
The 28-year-old Hodge, who, like Rodriguez, is originally from the Dominican Republic, has a record of 5-6-1 with three knockouts and has appeared in eight-round bouts. Hodge, who now lives in Sarasota, Fla., lasted until the sixth and final round in a bout against Joe Greene, one of the most highly regarded young middleweights in the sport.
Rodriguez won the USA Boxing national championship for 2005 and the Golden Gloves national championship for 2006, both at 165 pounds.
Rodriguez, who has lived in Worcester since arriving in the United States from his native Dominican Republic during 1998, considered competing for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, but the premature birth of twins, Edwin Jr. and Serena Lynn, changed his priorities. Stephanie Rapa, Edwin’s fiancee and mother of the twins, is a graduate of Holy Cross with a degree in political science and has been accepted by the Western New England School of Law.