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Edwin Rodriguez gets $1M to fight Andre Ward for WBA title on HBO
By Bud Barth, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
hbarth@telegram.com
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Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez, who didn't take up boxing until coming to Worcester from the Dominican Republic as a 13-year-old in 1998, is finally getting his chance to fight for a world championship.
The 28-year-old super middleweight (24-0-0, 16 knockouts), ranked No. 1 in the world by the WBC and No. 3 by the WBA and IBF, has accepted a $1 million offer to fight undefeated WBA champion Andre Ward (26-0-0 14 KOs) on Nov. 16 on HBO's "World Championship Boxing" from the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.
In August, Rodriguez turned down an offer to fight Ward in September, saying it didn't give him enough time to prepare. Then, last week, he rejected an $800,000 offer to fight Ward on Nov. 16, demanding $1 million instead. HBO finally agreed to those terms, Rodriguez told the Telegram & Gazette by telephone on Friday night from his Houston training headquarters.
"This is a great fight for me, especially after my big win in Monte Carlo," Rodriguez said, referring to his first-round TKO of light heavyweight Denis Grachev in the final of the Monte Carlo Million Dollar Super Four tournament in July.
"I'm really excited," he added. "After that big win, I'm in a spot where I'm ready to take on someone like Ward. I know he's a tough opponent and he's earned that spot by beating some tough fighters like (IBF champion) Carl Froch, (WBC champion) Sakio Bika and (former WBC light heavyweight champion) Chad Dawson, but this is my time to get in there with the best guy in my weight class and prove to everyone that I'm better."
Ward, 29, was considered perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet when he stopped Dawson, who was coming down in weight, in the 10th round in September 2012. But Ward hasn't fought since then, and had surgery in March to repair the rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Still, he will be considered the odds-on favorite against Rodriguez, who has yet to fight a true world-class opponent.
Speaking about Rodriguez, Ward said: "He's a young, hungry, undefeated fighter who doesn't believe he can lose, and it's my job to change his mind. I think he and his team feel like they are going to catch me slipping coming off of surgery and the layoff. I don't feel like the layoff will hurt me, I feel like it will help me. It allowed me to rest mentally and physically, and I want to show the fans on Nov. 16 that I'm better than I was before I left."
Rodriguez is a two-time national amateur champion, having won the USA Boxing National Championships in 2005 and the National Golden Gloves in 2006 as a middleweight, the weight at which he turned pro in 2008. Ward is a former Olympic gold medalist with a string of impressive victories on his résumé.
"I've fought Olympians before, but I've never fought someone who won an Olympic gold medal," Rodriguez said. "I've never been this motivated to continue to improve and be at my best."
Rodriguez opened some eyes with his destruction of Grachev in Monte Carlo, especially considering that Grachev had beaten previously undefeated Zsolt Erdei, a former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, in the semifinals.
"This is the fight I need to show everyone my best," Rodriguez said, "because I still feel I've never shown my best because there was no need to be at my best. But against Ward, I'll have to be at my best and I will be at my best.
"It's motivating to know I'm so close to being the best in my weight class. Forget the million dollars, I don't even care about it at this point. I'm going to get that just by showing up. I'm looking to be recognized as the best fighter in my weight class. That's a distinction he (Ward) has now, but I'm determined to take that away from him."
Rodriguez will fly Friday to Los Angeles for a press conference on Saturday. After that, he'll return to Houston to work under trainer Ronnie Shields.
"Vince Lombardi once said, 'Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.' On Nov. 16, I know I will win," Rodriguez said.
Lou DiBella, Rodriguez's promoter, had said after the Grachev fight that he thought Rodriguez needed more seasoning before challenging Ward. Not surprisingly, he has changed his thinking.
"I commend Andre Ward for accepting a huge challenge after an injury and layoff," DiBella said. "On Nov. 16, he will wish he didn't when he gets La-Bombed by La Bomba."
Ward feels otherwise.
"You have a young fighter in Edwin Rodriguez that feels like it's his time," he said. "You have a young veteran in myself that feels like it's still my time, and those ingredients will make for a blockbuster fight on Nov. 16 on HBO."
By Bud Barth, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
hbarth@telegram.com
Add a comment
Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez, who didn't take up boxing until coming to Worcester from the Dominican Republic as a 13-year-old in 1998, is finally getting his chance to fight for a world championship.
The 28-year-old super middleweight (24-0-0, 16 knockouts), ranked No. 1 in the world by the WBC and No. 3 by the WBA and IBF, has accepted a $1 million offer to fight undefeated WBA champion Andre Ward (26-0-0 14 KOs) on Nov. 16 on HBO's "World Championship Boxing" from the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.
In August, Rodriguez turned down an offer to fight Ward in September, saying it didn't give him enough time to prepare. Then, last week, he rejected an $800,000 offer to fight Ward on Nov. 16, demanding $1 million instead. HBO finally agreed to those terms, Rodriguez told the Telegram & Gazette by telephone on Friday night from his Houston training headquarters.
"This is a great fight for me, especially after my big win in Monte Carlo," Rodriguez said, referring to his first-round TKO of light heavyweight Denis Grachev in the final of the Monte Carlo Million Dollar Super Four tournament in July.
"I'm really excited," he added. "After that big win, I'm in a spot where I'm ready to take on someone like Ward. I know he's a tough opponent and he's earned that spot by beating some tough fighters like (IBF champion) Carl Froch, (WBC champion) Sakio Bika and (former WBC light heavyweight champion) Chad Dawson, but this is my time to get in there with the best guy in my weight class and prove to everyone that I'm better."
Ward, 29, was considered perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet when he stopped Dawson, who was coming down in weight, in the 10th round in September 2012. But Ward hasn't fought since then, and had surgery in March to repair the rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Still, he will be considered the odds-on favorite against Rodriguez, who has yet to fight a true world-class opponent.
Speaking about Rodriguez, Ward said: "He's a young, hungry, undefeated fighter who doesn't believe he can lose, and it's my job to change his mind. I think he and his team feel like they are going to catch me slipping coming off of surgery and the layoff. I don't feel like the layoff will hurt me, I feel like it will help me. It allowed me to rest mentally and physically, and I want to show the fans on Nov. 16 that I'm better than I was before I left."
Rodriguez is a two-time national amateur champion, having won the USA Boxing National Championships in 2005 and the National Golden Gloves in 2006 as a middleweight, the weight at which he turned pro in 2008. Ward is a former Olympic gold medalist with a string of impressive victories on his résumé.
"I've fought Olympians before, but I've never fought someone who won an Olympic gold medal," Rodriguez said. "I've never been this motivated to continue to improve and be at my best."
Rodriguez opened some eyes with his destruction of Grachev in Monte Carlo, especially considering that Grachev had beaten previously undefeated Zsolt Erdei, a former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, in the semifinals.
"This is the fight I need to show everyone my best," Rodriguez said, "because I still feel I've never shown my best because there was no need to be at my best. But against Ward, I'll have to be at my best and I will be at my best.
"It's motivating to know I'm so close to being the best in my weight class. Forget the million dollars, I don't even care about it at this point. I'm going to get that just by showing up. I'm looking to be recognized as the best fighter in my weight class. That's a distinction he (Ward) has now, but I'm determined to take that away from him."
Rodriguez will fly Friday to Los Angeles for a press conference on Saturday. After that, he'll return to Houston to work under trainer Ronnie Shields.
"Vince Lombardi once said, 'Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.' On Nov. 16, I know I will win," Rodriguez said.
Lou DiBella, Rodriguez's promoter, had said after the Grachev fight that he thought Rodriguez needed more seasoning before challenging Ward. Not surprisingly, he has changed his thinking.
"I commend Andre Ward for accepting a huge challenge after an injury and layoff," DiBella said. "On Nov. 16, he will wish he didn't when he gets La-Bombed by La Bomba."
Ward feels otherwise.
"You have a young fighter in Edwin Rodriguez that feels like it's his time," he said. "You have a young veteran in myself that feels like it's still my time, and those ingredients will make for a blockbuster fight on Nov. 16 on HBO."
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