By Francisco Salazar
As first reported by Boxingscene.com, junior lightweight Saul Rodriguez is scheduled to return to action on March 14.
The unbeaten fighter will fight Jerry Nardo in an eight round bout at the Civic Auditorium in Glendale, Calif., Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman told Boxingscene.com earlier this week.
The bout will headline a ‘Solo Boxeo’ card that will be broadcast on UniMas.
Rodriguez (16-0-1, 13 KOs) opened his 2015 campaign on January 17 in Port Hueneme, Calif., knocking out Carlos Rodriguez in the second round. The knockout win over Carlos Rodriguez was Rodriguez’s eighth win in a row by knockout.
Saul Rodriguez is one of Top Rank’s prized prospects. The Riverside native splits his time training in his hometown and in Oxnard, where he is trained by Robert Garcia.
Nardo (20-6, 11 KOs) will be fighting for only the third time outside of his native Philippines. He will be fighting for the first time in the United States.
In his last bout on January 10, Nardo lost an eight round split decision to Jason Redondo.
Also on the telecast, unbeaten junior lightweight Toka Kahn Clary will fight Edwin Solis in an eight round bout.
Clary (14-0, 9 KOs) hails from Providence, Rhode Island and will be fighting for the first time in 2015. In his last bout on December 13, he won a one-sided eight round unanimous decision over Camilo Perez.
Solis (6-2-3, 4 KOs) should provide a significant test to Clary. Solis is unbeaten in his last six fights (three wins and three draws), fighting to back-to-back draws against Gabriel Tolmajyan and Gabino Saenz.
The non-televised undercard will be announced at a later date.
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 could be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
