Elvis has left the building—but is ready to return at a moment’s notice.
Unbeaten junior welterweight prospect Elvis Rodriguez has become the sport’s latest cult favorite following his third stoppage win this summer. The moment came in a 3rd round knockout of West Virginia’s Cody Wilson (9-3, 6KOs) last month on ESPN+ from The Bubble in Las Vegas. The closed-doors location also saw the Dominican southpaw enjoy early knockout wins 19 days apart this past July.
The latest win marked the fourth of a 2020 campaign that isn’t even close to winding down anytime soon.
“I’m gonna be ready for all of the fight dates Top Rank wants to give me,” Rodriguez told BoxingScene.com. “I’m going to be ready. No matter the competition they have lined up for me, I will be ready. I’m going to keep working hard. As the opportunities come, I will be ready for as many times as they want me to fight in a year.”
Tentative plans call for Rodriguez (9-0-1, 9KOs) to return by October, a month when Top Rank is armed with five weekend fight dates. The Las Vegas-based promotional outfit is running every weekend in town dating back to August 22, at least through Halloween and with hopes of extending that stretch uninterrupted through the end of the year.
It all fits perfectly into the career plans of the Freddie Roach-trained Rodriguez, who—through just 10 pro fights–is already thinking about the next stage of his promising career.
“My goal is to win Prospect of the Year,” insists Rodriguez, who plans to accomplish far more than that in 2021. “If everything keeps going as planned, with the way my career is going right now I expect to be facing the contenders by this time next year.
“As long as I keep winning and winning impressively, there’s no reason why I can’t be in there with the top fighters at 140.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
