Saul Rodriguez Aims To Impress on 'Solo Boxeo Tecate'

By Francisco Salazar

Junior lightweight Saul Rodriguez will fight Carlos Rodriguez on January 17, Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman told BoxingScene.com on Sunday afternoon.

The eight round bout will take place at the Oceanview Pavilion in Port Hueneme, California and will open the "Solo Boxeo Tecate" telecast on UniMas at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Rodriguez was originally scheduled to fight on the Top Rank card at the Texas Station Gambling Hall and Hotel in Las Vegas on January 10.

Rodriguez (15-0-1, 12 KOs) is one of Top Rank's brightest prospects and splits his training between the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard and his hometown of Riverside, California.

The 21-year-old stopped Juan Ramon Solis in the sixth round of his last fight on December 6 in Glendale, California. It was his seventh consecutive knockout win.

In his last bout on December 20, Carlos Rodriguez (9-1, 4 KOs) stopped Walberto Gaxiola in the first round in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. In his previous bout on February 15, Carlos Rodriguez as knocked out in the second round by Robert Manzanarez.

In the main event, Jose Zepeda (21-0, 18 KOs) will fight Rafael Cobos (15-5-5, 3 KOs) in an eight round junior welterweight bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing