Kiko Martinez out of Carl Frampton fight; Edwin Rodriguez a serious player in new super middleweight division

Matchroom Sport can confirm that European Super Bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez has withdrawn from his fight with Carl Frampton on September 10 at the Odyssey Arena through personal reasons.

Martinez’s father was taken ill during the young Spaniard’s training camp and has since had his leg amputated. The 25 year-old left his base to spend time with his father, and as a result has pulled out of the fight on the undercard of Paul McCloskey vs. Breidis Prescott, live on Sky Sports.

Frampton’s appearance on the bill will be his 11th pro outing and the man named as one of Sky Sports 11 to watch in 2011, with promoters Matchroom Sport working hard to secure a test for Barry McGuigan’s hot prospect.

“Irish fight fans can be assured that Carl will remain on the bill,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “He has trained for a big fight and that’s exactly what we are going to deliver for him, and we hope to name his opponent within 48 hours.

“Our thoughts are with Kiko and his family at this time and we wish them well.”

Tickets for Paul McCloskey vs. Breidis Prescott plus a full championship undercard led by Carl Frampton vs. Kiko Martinez are on sale now priced at £30-£150 (tickets may be subject to service charge) and available from the Odyssey Arena Box Office on 02890 73 9074, Ticketmaster 0844 277 4455 (24 hour). Tickets are also available in person from the Odyssey Arena Box Office, at Ticketmaster outlets, and online from www.ticketmaster.ie.

Edwin Rodriguez a serious player in new super middleweight division

ORCESTER, Mass. (August 30, 2011) – Unbeaten sensation Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez, eyeing a world title fight in 2012, has successfully advanced from prospect to legitimate contender in the super middleweight division.

Granted, the 26-year-old Dominican Republic native (19-0, 14 KOs) may not be ready right now for the likes of Lucian Bute, Andre Ward and Carl Froch, but in another year Rodriguez figures he’ll be ready to challenge the top 168-pound guns and, by then, the overall landscape in that weight class could be completely altered. Rumors have some of the super middleweight elite preparing moves up to the light heavyweight division in the not too distant future.

“I need two good fights against top 10 opponents and then I’ll be ready for a world title fight,” Rodriguez said. “I fought on August 20th at 174, but only because my opponent couldn’t make a lower weight. I have no issues making 168. I was able to stay focused the entire fight against Traietti. I wish the fight had lasted longer so I could have thrown more combinations. I’m extremely happy with my performance and have more confidence in my jab. Our game plan was to establish my jab in the first two rounds and then drop my right on him. But I caught him with a good body punch and the fight ended. I need to continue working on putting combinations together and being aware of fighting more defensively. I was disciplined in the gym and listened to Ronnie (Shields). The first time he (Traietti) rushed me, the old me would have tried to take him out right away, but I kept to the game plan.”

Rodriguez’promoter, Lou DiBella, feels he has something special in Edwin.

“Edwin Rodriguez is the best 168 lbs. prospect in the United States. His backstory is incredible and soon to be a major documentary. On October 21, Team Rodriguez is proud to be headlining another ShoBox, our home away from home. More details will follow.”

Rodriguez is coming off of a devastating second-round victory by technical knockout on August 20th at home, when he broke two of opponent Chris Traietti’s (10-3, 6 KOs) ribs, drilling a vicious right that caused breathing problems that prevented the Iraq War veteran from continuing to fight.

Larry Army, Edwin’s trusted manager, believes his ace owns the best body shot to come out of New England since “Irish” Micky Ward, as well as being, arguably, the top contemporary body puncher in the world. “Four of his last five fights ending in knockout were stopped after a single punch to the body against Traietti, (Ibraheim) King, (Kevin) Engle and (George) Armenta. Who else can make that claim? The other knockout was from an accumulation of punches, many to the body, against (James) McGirt. The only fight in Edwin’s last five that went the distance was when he dislocated his shoulder in the second round against Aaron Pryor Jr., who at No. 9 in the WBC ratings is somehow rated three spots ahead of Edwin. Most people in boxing think Bute is the best body puncher in the world and I honestly believe Edwin is his equal in that regard. He throws with such velocity.”

The reigning WBC USNBC super middleweight champion, Rodriguez is knocking on the door for a major fight, currently rated # 8 by the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Association, as well as #12 by the World Boxing Council and #13 by the World Boxing Organization.

Renowned trainer Ronnie Shields has worked with Edwin a little more than two months and only one fight, but the former two-time world title challenger senses greatness in his new protégé. “Boxing is always looking for its next star and I think it is Edwin Rodriguez,” Shields commented. “He has that style fans really love – he throws a lot of punches and is a real fighter. I was very happy with the way he fought against Traietti, even though it lasted only two rounds. Edwin fought on the outside, went to the body, and his jab was consistent. I never wanted to deviate from what he does best – throw a lot of punches. I want him to box more and he did. It’s boxing and he’s going to get hit, but I don’t want him to get hit as much as he had in the past.

“I’d say he’s improved 20-25 percent, but give us a few more months working together for his next fight and he’ll be improved 60-70 percent. When he has to go 12 rounds, he has to understand that it doesn’t mean going toe-to-toe for 12. He has to adjust depending on the style of his opponent. We’re going to work on him catching punches and falling back after he punches, but not taking away from his strong, forceful punching. Next, we want to test him against a top-10 fighter, to better judge when he’ll be ready for a world title fight.”

WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 19, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23RD AT UIC PAVILION

CHICAGO, IL (August 29, 2011) Chicago’s 8 Count Productions, has announced details of WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 19, a sensational evening of world class professional boxing on Friday, September 23rd at the UIC Pavilion.

Advance tickets, priced at $36 for reserved floor seats and $31 for general admission can be purchased in advance through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com, the UIC Pavilion Box Office, (phone 312-413-5740) and the 8 Count Productions Office (312-226-5800.)

In the main event, Andrzej “The Polish Prince” Fonfara, will return to the UIC Pavilion battling in front of his huge legion of supporters from Chicago’s Polish Community.

The 23-year-old Fonfara, 18-2-1 (9KO’s), is riding a six bout winning streak, most recently stopping Anthony Russell in the seventh round on May 20th. His scheduled ten round bout against an opponent to be announced will see Fonfara defend his WBO NABO and WBC Youth light heavyweight titles.

In the co-main event, popular Chicago welterweight prospect Jaime “The Truth” Herrera will challenge battle-tested veteran Robert “The Wolf” Jones of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Herrera, 6-1-0 (4KO’s) comes off an outstanding third round knockout of Eric Draper on May 20th at the UIC Pavilion. Just 22 years old, Herrera is looking to stay busy in the second half of 2011 as he cements his position as among Chicago’s finest young prospects.

The upset minded Jones bring a record of 8-9-1 (3KO’s) into the scheduled six rounder. Last October brought the 33 year old his finest victory, a third round knockout of Pete Cantu at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

In a six round special feature attraction, hard-hitting Ukrainian middleweight prospect, Viktor Polyakov will return to the Chicago fight scene. A native of Yevpatoriaa, Ukraine, now living in Chicago, the undefeated Polyakov brings a record of 8-0-0 with six stoppages into battle against an opponent to be announced.

Returning to the ring for the first time since 2008, all but one of Polyakov’s victories have come in the Chicagoland area.

WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 19 will also see four of Chicago’s finest newcomers in separate four round bouts, super bantamweight Sergio Montes De Oca, 4-1-0 (1KO), super bantamweight Juan Carlos Fernandez, 1-0-1, super featherweight Jeremias Correa, 2-0-0 (1KO) and pro debuting cruiserweight Dimur Ortuz.

Rounding out the card, Tacoma, Washington prospect Mike Gavronski, 2-0-1 (2KO’s), will see action in a four round super middleweight bout.

8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING, was started by Dominic Pesoli in 1998 and has consistently presented the highest quality professional boxing events in Chicagoland.

Fighters currently under the 8 Count Productions banner include; super middleweight contender Donovan George, light heavyweight Andrzej Fonfara, junior welterweight prospects Ivan Popoca, Adrian Granados and Ramiro Carrillo along with welterweights Achour Esho and Jaime Herrera.

For more information on 8 Count Productions please visit their new website, www.8countproductions.com. Follow them on Twitter at 8_Count and Facebook at “8 Count Productions”.

Doors open at the UIC Pavilion at 7pm with the first bell at 8pm. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine, just one block south of the Eisenhower Expressway. For further information, please visit their website at www.uicpavilion.com. The UIC Pavilion is now serving alcohol at all boxing events.