By James Slater – Last night in El Paso, Texas, unbeaten heavyweight David Rodriguez scored the biggest win of his pro career in style as he utterly destroyed veteran Owen beck in the 3rd-round. 33-year-old Rodriguez, known as “Nino” landed two consecutive left hooks to the head of his 35-year-old opponent and down went Beck – for an alarming amount of time.
The referee never saw the need to count, instead signalling for the ringside doctor. The official time was 2-minutes and three-seconds of the 3rd. Down for something like ten minutes, Beck was thankfully okay after being given oxygen.. Rodriguez is now 35-0(33), one of the best records in today’s heavyweight division. Beck, known as “What The Heck,” is now 29-8(20) and, after suffering his most brutal defeat ever, he should think about retirement.
How good can Rodriguez become? Last night’s devastating KO is sure to find it’s way onto You Tube and get the fans talking, and “Nino” can bang, no doubt about that. But Beck had lost his last four coming in, all by stoppage. Yet the Jamaican ranks as Rodriguez’ best opponent yet. We need to see the 33-year-old, approx 250-pounder in with a ranked contender before we can get too excited about him.
Thankfully, and according to The El Paso Times, Rodriguez’ promoter, Zeferino Ramirez, is working hard to get his fighter a big test for his next fight. The word is, Ramirez is trying to secure a fight between Rodriguez and Chris Arreola (who faces Friday Ahunanyna on July 9th). This is good news, and this match-up, if it happened, would certainly attract the fans.
A pro since 1998, it’s surely time for the 6’4” Rodriguez to step it up in competition soon. Looking down Rodriguez’ record, there are not too many recognisable names listed. What the puncher also needs is more rounds. Having gone eight-rounds just one, and with a high number of quick KO’s to his name, Rodriguez has yet to prove he can hang tough when in a hard, long fight. Of course, with him possessing the kind of frightening punching power he showed last night, there may not be too many big guys capable of extending Rodriguez!
It’s still too early to get carried away with this particular Texan bomber, but Rodriguez sure is going the right way to catch the eye of the fans. Last night’s piece of handiwork might even get nominated for KO of The Year.