ARENA Box-Promotion has won the purse bid for the World Boxing Council cruiserweight Final Eliminator between Herbie Hide and Matt Godfrey. The fight will most probably take place in late March or early April. The winner of the elimination bout will face the winner of the WBC cruiserweight championship between Giacobe Fragomeni and Krystzof Wlodarczyk.
If he can beat Godfrey Hide would not only opening up the door for earning big money at the end of his long and successful career. The “Dancing Destroyer” could also make history becoming the first former world heavyweight champion to go down to cruiserweight to win a world title.
Rodriguez graduates Saturday night in Biloxi
Unbeaten middleweight sensation Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez, former 2-time national amateur champion, fights Saturday night (January 17) in his first scheduled 8-round bout against Brad Austin on the off-televised HBO undercard, headlined by Andre Berto-Luis Collazo WBC welterweight title fight, at the Beau Rivage Resort Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.
“I’m excited,” Rodriguez said between training sessions about his upcoming match. “I can’t wait to show everyone my talents. It’s another stepping stone towards becoming world champion. The HBO people and a lot of other influential people in boxing will be there and I’m going to showcase my talents.”
The Dominican Republic-born Rodriguez (8-0, 5 KOs) hasn’t fought since August 22, when he won all six rounds versus Marcus Upshaw (8-2), but during that inactive period he often sparred with world title challengers Peter Manfredo, Jr. and Elvin Ayala, as well as Jessie Brinkley. Mississippi will be the fifth different state Edwin’s already fought in as a pro.
“My inactivity won’t be an issue,” Edwin promised. “I was very busy with eight fights in my first year as a pro. I took off a few months but I was constantly in and out of the gym. I’d only been with my trainer, Peter Manfredo, Sr., for about eight months and we needed more time to know each other. I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ll be working inside a lot more. I was getting caught with rights pulling away with my chin up. That was a bad amateur habit we had to clean up.
“We’re fighting at 168 pounds but, I’m 6-0 feet tall and can fight at 168 or 160. I’m capable of winning at either weight, but my first goal is to be middleweight champ of the world. Eventually, I’ll probably fight as a super middleweight, but right now I’m fighting this one at 168 and then coming back down to 160.”
Austin (8-5, 2 KOs), fighting out of Tennessee, figures to be a solid test for Rodriguez, largely due to his experience fighting top prospects such as Carlos DeLeon, Jr., James McGirt, Jr. and Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillon.
“Last year was great for Edwin,” Rodriguez’ manager Larry Army noted. “We decided as a team for Edwin to take off four months to review his fights and hone his skills. We’re thrilled that Edwin is starting 2009 on such a high profile card, his first on an HBO or world title fight undercard. He’s going to learn a lot from this experience, which will help him develop even more. We’re confident that 2009 will start as 2008 ended with him undefeated and one more step closer to his goal of becoming world champion.”
For more information about the 23-year-old Rodriguez go online to www.edwinrodriguezboxing.com.
ESTRADA VS. CANNELL ON JANUARY 23RD CARD IN CICERO
Chicago fan favorite Eric “EL LOCO” Estrada will battle Canadian prospect Steve Cannell in a six round super bantamweight bout on Friday, January 23rd at Cicero Stadium, it was announced today by Dominic Pesoli, President of 8 Count Productions.
The Estrada/Cannell bout is part of “NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION” , an outstanding evening of world class professional boxing. Advance tickets starting at $30, can be obtained in advance by calling the 8 Count Productions office at 312-226-5800. Cicero Stadium is located at 1909 S. Laramie in Cicero . Doors on the evening of the event will open at=2 07pm with the first bell at 8pm.
The 20 year old Estrada, sporting a record of 6-0 (2KO’s), has quickly become amongst boxing hottest young prospect’s with his all action style and fearless attitude. In his last bout on November 14th, Estrada won a hard fought six round war over the much more experienced Ivan Rodriguez, a bout which had packed the house at Cicero Stadium on their feet from start to finish.
“Since turning pro sixteen months ago, Eric has really put himself on the fast track. He’s fearless and only wants to be in tough fights. He’s not looking for easy wins and the fans really enjoy seeing him fight. He’s been terrific to work with and we’re looking forward to seeing him perform again on the 23rd” said Pesoli.
“Cannell’s a tough kid from Canada who’s coming off a ten round draw in a Canadian title fight so once again Eric is facing a very tough opponent.”
The 26 year old Cannell, 2-1-3, fought to a ten round majority draw on November 21st against Omar Valdez in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for the vacant Canadian Super Bantamweight Title.
Headlining “NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION” is a six round junior welterweight bout between Chicago fan favorite Ivan Popoca, 8-0-1 (7KO’s) and the equally heavy handed Daniel Garcia, 9-5-1 (7KO’s) of Houston , TX .
“NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION” is presented along with Miller Lite, TCF Bank, Jack Daniels and EL Jimador Tequila.
8 Count Productions was started by Dominic Pesoli in 1998 and has consistently presented the highest quality professional boxing events in Chicagoland. In 2003, Pesoli along with former featherweight contender Mike Garcia opened JABB Boxing Gym, a 6,000 square foot venue dedicated to the finest Chicagoland boxers of all talent levels.
To view the seating chart and poster for this event or for more information on 8 Count Productions and JABB Boxing Gym, please visit www.8countproductions.com and www.jabbboxing.com