News: Rodriguez; Dulorme vs. Gato; Foreman vs. Davis

Former Puerto Rican amateur star, Emmanuel 'Manny' Rodriguez ( 5-0, 4 KO's ), has began his training towards his sixth professional fight in late August.

"We are in pursuit of big fights for 'Manny' by the end of the year. He's gonna be ready to fight for any regional title available at 115 pounds, and we understand that there will be no problems with that because of his outstanding amateur career" Rodríguez's manager Juan Orengo said.

"Next week, I will have the exact date, and the venue most probably will be in the United States, between Orlando and New York. Nobody wants to fight him in Puerto Rico", Orengo ended saying.

20-year old Rodriguez commented: "I'm very motivated, in perfect condition and happy for my next bout. Lately my Puerto Rican fellow boxers have been defeated but I will not disappoint my people because I'm very focused on this, and I'm getting better on each fight".

Rodríguez amateur boxing achievements:

GOLD - 2009 Juan Evangelista Venegas Olympic Cup, San Juan, Puerto Rico
GOLD - 2009 Jose "Cheo" Aponte International Tournament, Caguas, Puerto Rico
GOLD - 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Singapore, China, ( became the first flyweight champion in the event's history )
SILVER - 2010 Youth World Amateur Boxing Championships, Baku, Azerbaijan
GOLD - 2010 Cup Olympic Juan Evangelista Venegas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
GOLD - 2011 Copa Angel 'Cholo' Espada, Salinas, Puerto Rico
GOLD - 2011 Puerto Rico National Champion

NEW JERSEY - Its official, highly touted Puerto Rican boxer,
Thomas Dulorme (18-1, 13 KO's) has an opponent for his upcoming fight on August, 17 as part of an HBO Latino special broadcast starting at 12:30 a.m ET (Sunday) at the Revel Casino-Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  Dulorme has signed to fight fellow boricua, Francisco "El Gato" Figueroa (20-5-1, 13 KO's) from the Bronx, New York, who has only been KO'd by former world champion, Randall Bailey in 2009.

This boxing event will be headlined by two 12-round championship fights.  IBF middleweight champion, Daniel Geale will be facing Darren Barker in the main event and co-featured by IBF super bantamweight champion, Jhonatan Romero against Kiko Martínez.  Both fights will be televised live on HBO BOXING AFTER DARK® beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT.  

Since losing his unbeaten record against Luis Abregu in October 2012, Dulorme and his team decided to go down to junior welterweight  where he has shown great strength.

"I'm very grateful to my promoters, Gary Shaw, Javier Bustillo and Lou DiBella for giving me this opportunity.  Figueroa is a fighter that always trains hard and comes to fight, and I must be well prepared to deal with him" said the 23 years old Dulorme, "I feel very strong and faster at the junior welterweight division and I will prove it on August 17 on HBO Latino."

"The addition of Dulorme vs. Figueroa brings me great pleasure because the card is already stacked with two fantastic main event attractions and this fight is going to be explosive," said Gary Shaw.  "The Revel is kicking off their boxing debut with a bang and the fans will be in for a great night of boxing."

"The fans will be surprised with Dulorme's speed and power.  He will be a world champion soon" Javier Bustillo said.

"Dulorme is on a mission to get back into title contention and I'm very excited about his future." Lou DibBella stated. "I know Thomas will be more explosive at Jr. Welterweight.  Figueroa will be a stiff test, one I believe Dulorme will shine in."

On February 21, Dulorme defeated an overweight Eddie Brooks by first-round knockout and in his last outing he defeated veteran Ben Ankrah in April via unanimous decision.

Dulorme is a member of "Team Puerto Rico Boxing", a prominent boxing promotional group featuring Gary Shaw Productions, DiBella Entertainment and Universal Promotions.

This Wednesday, July 24, DiBella Entertainment and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s SMS Promotions will stage the latest edition of the NYC’s longest running boxing series – Broadway Boxing at midtown Manhattan’s famed Roseland Ballroom.

In the feature bout of the evening former world junior middleweight champion and now resurgent contender Brooklyn’s own Yuri Foreman (30-2, 8KO’s) taking on Jamaal Davis (14-9-1, 6KO’s) in an eight-round junior middleweight match-up.

The remainder of the 10-bout card features an array of up-and-coming talent, including SMS Promotions promoted Luis Olivares (4-0, 3KO’s), Emmanuel DeJesus (5-0, 4KO’s) and Donte Strayhorn (2-1) all in separate four-round bouts.

Making his 4th consecutive appearance at Roseland Ballroom will be DBE’s Travis Peterkin (7-0, 4KO’s) as he takes on Hector Hernandez (10-5-2, 4KO’s) in a six-round light heavyweight match-up. The NY Golden Glove Champion 22-year-old Peterkin, who like Foreman lives and trains in Brooklyn has been impressive in each of his previous seven outings, and has been garnering rave reviews throughout the NY boxing scene.

Fellow Brooklynite and fan-favorite female super bantamweight Heather “The Heat” Hardy (5-0) will also see action on the card when she squares off against Cassie Trost (1-1-1) in a six-round female bout. The Irish-American Hardy, who trains at the famed Gleason’s gym, has seen her army of fans grow from each outing to the next. The bout on Wednesday will be Hardy’s 5th on a Broadway Boxing card since turning pro in August of last year.

Also seeing action on the card for the DBE-stable will be the Bronx’s 2010 NY Golden Gloves Champion and 2011 National Golden Gloves runner-up Louis Cruz (3-0, 2KO’s) as he takes on Justin Robbins (1-1) in a four-round lightweight match-up.

Westchester County’s Bryant “Peewee” Cruz (5-0, 5KO’s) will look to keep his perfect knockout ratio in tact when he takes on Nuwan Jayakody (1-1, 1KO) in their four-round junior lightweight match-up.

2012 Olympian Ytalo Perea (3-0, 2KO’s) looks to continue on his tear through the professional ranks when he squares off against fellow unbeaten John Orr (1-0) in their four-round heavyweight contest.

Rounding out the card will be Akil Auguste (2-0, 2KO’s) as he moves way up in class when he takes on Louis Rose (7-1, 2KO’s) in their four-round middleweight showdown. A victory over Rose, who is coming off back-to-back upset victories over Delen Parsley (10-0) and Gino McClellan (9-0) will make a major statement for the young Auguste’s career.

The card on July 24 is promoted in association with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s SMS Promotions and sponsored by Manfredi Auto Group, Newlio.com, and Everlast. SNY will broadcast the event tape-delayed. Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000. Tickets are priced at $125, $85, $65 and $45. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door the night of the fight. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET with the first bout scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.