Daddy's in the paper again! Our Daddy is famous! :)

Thursday, February 19, 2009
DiBella inks ‘La Bomba’

By Bud Barth TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
hbarth@telegram.com

WORCESTER — The handlers of Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. today at historic Mechanics Hall to announce that the undefeated Worcester middleweight has signed a three-year promotional deal with powerful DiBella Entertainment of New York.

The other big announcement on tap is that the 23-year-old Rodriguez (9-0-0, 6 knockouts) will make his long-awaited hometown pro debut on Thursday, March 19, at Mechanics Hall, which hasn’t hosted professional boxing since 1967.

The press conference, which is open to the public, will be held in Washburn Hall at the refurbished 157-year-old concert facility, located at 321 Main St. Doors will open at 12:30 p.m.


Lou DiBella, CEO and founder of DiBella Entertainment, will attend, along with Rodriguez and his manager, Larry Army Jr.

The promotional sweepstakes boiled down to DiBella and Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports of Providence. Reportedly, Burchfield’s offer originally included more upfront money, but DiBella closed the gap by kicking in what Army called “a substantial signing bonus” for Rodriguez.

The contract also includes a one-year option for DiBella, whose superior name recognition and powerful sway with cable TV finally sealed the deal.

“Lou was pretty much one of the pioneers of HBO Championship Boxing,” Army said. “If you look at how many shows he gets compared to other promoters, the difference is dramatic. He’s also one of the few guys who works intimately with both HBO and Showtime.”

DiBella’s stable of stars includes WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, IBF junior welterweight champion Paul Malignaggi, former WBA welterweight champion Ike Quartey, middleweight prospects Ronald Hearns and Carlos DeLeon Jr., heavyweight contender Chazz Witherspoon and former IBF welterweight champ Kermit Cintron.

The March 19 card here will be promoted by DiBella in association with Manfredo Gym, the Providence facility owned by Rodriguez trainer Peter Manfredo Sr. No opponent has been named for Rodriguez, whose bout will be an eight-rounder.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Witherspoon (24-1, 16) also is expected to be on the card.

In his last fight on Jan. 17, Rodriguez knocked down Brad Austin four times in seven minutes and scored a third-round TKO in Biloxi, Miss. Army said Rodriguez “looked the best he’s ever looked” in that bout.

Mechanics Hall, which underwent a $5 million restoration in 1977, is considered one of the finest acoustical concert halls in the country. It’s a cozy spot for boxing, seating about 1,200, and was the site of more than 350 pro bouts from 1920 to 1967.

Among the better-known Worcester fighters who did battle there were welterweight Don Williams, who put together a 60-16-2 record with 33 KOs from 1947-56, welterweights Harry Devine (39-17-4, 6, 1928-41), Johnny Potenti (26-2-0, 15, 1943-50) and Tiger Flowers (63-43-5, 30, 1945-51), middleweight Johnny Rossi (60-24-6, 23, 1932-43) and heavyweight Johnny Melko (37-18-4, 11, 1944-50).
END



THe kids will be attending the press conference with us today and I will post pictures later to this post!