By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com received a call early this morning with news that trainer Rudy Pena, 58, died of a sudden heart attack at 2am in the Domenican Republic. Pena trained many of the biggest names from the Domenican Republic during their early stages and helped shape them.

He trained such fighters as Joan Guzman, Elio Rojas, Agapito Sanchez and Victor Cayo, who faces former champion Julio Diaz on July 31 at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. Pena helps the team of Cayo and was set to fly in for the Diaz fight. Cayo's current head trainer is Gabriel Sarmiento, the man who shaped WBC junior middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.