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Worcester Telegram and Gazette
Sunday, December 30, 2007

Edwin recruits Army to fight his battles
BUD BARTH’S BOXING NOTES


(T&G Staff File Photo/PAUL KAPTEYN)
Worcester middleweight Edwin Rodriguez will make his pro debut as early as next month.


If Worcester middleweight Edwin Rodriguez had a nickel for every wannabe manager who came sniffing after him, he’d have… well, a whole bunch of nickels.

As it is, Rodriguez — a two-time national amateur champion (USA Boxing in 2005, Golden Gloves in ’06) — stands to make some real coinage, potentially millions of dollars, when his professional career kicks off, possibly as early as next month.

After being stewarded through the process by trainer Carlos Garcia and city attorney Maria Rivera-Ortiz, the sister of three-time world champion José Antonio Rivera of Auburn, Rodriguez is set to sign a three-year contract that will make Grafton lawyer Larry Army Jr. his manager.


The signing will occur “soon,” according to both sides, and end a hectic process of weeding through offers from about 20 national, regional and local candidates. They included Carl King, son of flamboyant promoter Don King, who has managed a whole stable of fighters, including Tim Austin, Ricardo Mayorga, Michael Dokes, Azumah Nelson, Frankie Randall, Tony Tubbs and Tim Witherspoon.

But Garcia, who has been with Rodriguez since the kid first strapped on boxing gloves six years ago, recommended that the 22-year-old fighter from the Dominican Republic go local to start off — partly because the bigger names wanted Rodriguez to commit for six years.

“Some of the contracts, they looked good, but they tied Edwin down for too long,” Garcia said. “They mean good, but we don’t know what the future’s going to bring. … We want to be a little free to do whatever. Edwin made the final decision.

“Eventually, we will sign with a promoter, some big name. We want to build a record first.”

Army is like an old, comfortable shoe to Rodriguez, who previously worked for the attorney at Sunset Mortgage in Auburn. Army now runs Weichert Realtors in Auburn and Lexington. “It’s a big relief for me,” said Rodriguez, who was 89-4 as an amateur. “It (the search) was pretty crazy. I had a lot of people telling me what to do, trying to get me off track and do something I’d probably regret later.

“He (Army) knows what he’s doing, and I’m just excited to work with him.”

The 37-year-old Army attended St. John’s High, graduating from Worcester Academy, Seton Hall University and Suffolk Law School. He doesn’t have any clients, but is a certified NBA player agent and following in the footsteps of his father, Larry Army Sr., who specialized in contract negotiations for 20 years, representing some of the “Temptations.”

Army was contacted four months ago about representing Rodriguez. “Actually, I was kind of surprised,” said Army, who had done some exhibition boxing and worked with the Worcester Police Gang Unit in its “Give Kids a Fighting Chance” program. “It (boxing management) wasn’t something I was looking to get into.”

And his objective now?

“I’m hoping to make him a world champion,” Army said. “I certainly think he has the talent to do that.”

Army took Rodriguez to Las Vegas recently for the blockbuster Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Ricky Hatton bout, which really opened the fighter’s eyes. Garcia said Rodriguez, who was working out regularly anyway, has been “training like a dog” since taking in that whole spectacle.

“Before, I was training but I really didn’t have a motive because I didn’t have a fight coming up. I had no motivation,” said Rodriguez, who will be paid a weekly salary by Army, plus fight purses. “Now that everything’s coming together, I have no time to fool around anymore. It’s all business now.”

The first pro bout for Rodriguez is set for Jan. 26 on a Peter Manfredo Sr. card in Mansfield, but matchmaker Frank Rohacik of Webster — another new member of the Rodriguez team — is still working on an opponent.

Rodriguez, who will be fighting at 160 pounds as a pro (165 was the amateur middleweight limit), currently weighs 173 and is “slowly coming down,” he said. Making weight used to be an issue, but Rodriguez has since hired a nutritionist.

“I didn’t have the right diet, I would eat whatever (I wanted), and the last two, three days, I would have to starve to make weight,” Rodriguez said. “Now I’m doing it the right way.”

Also serving on Rodriguez’s new team are Worcester’s Rocky Gonzalez, one of the best trainers around, and cut man Dave Tenney of New York, who worked with Rivera.

There’s a possibility that Rivera Promotions, the new company recently launched by the retired champion, will stage some early bouts for Rodriguez. That’s a lot of local flavor, which Garcia thinks is good.

“We don’t want to make any mistakes — we have to take it step by step,” Garcia said. “Eventually, we’re going to go big-time, but sometimes when you’re a small fish, they can eat you alive.”

Rodriguez’s bid to make the Olympic Trials for the 2008 Games ended with his controversial second-round loss to Dominic Wade in June at the USA Boxing Championships in Colorado Springs. Not wanting to carry that bitter defeat around with him forever, Rodriguez had two amateur bouts after that, most recently in November when he won a four-round decision over five-time national heavyweight champion Joey Montoya, an 18-year-old who was 12 pounds heavier.

Rodriguez was fighting for the Worcester Boxing Club and the Worcester Police Gang Unit in their annual charity tournament against the Aurora (Colo.) Police Boxing Club.

“It (the loss to Wade) is still pretty motivating to me,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t want my last amateur fight to be a loss, but it’s still there. I could have been an Olympian. But I’m going pro now, I’ve got to move on. I’ll go for world titles now.”

At home, everything is good, too. Rodriguez and his wife-to-be, Stephanie Rapa, are fussing over their 15-month-old twins, Edwin Jr. and Serena, who are approaching 20 pounds each after being born four months prematurely on Sept. 29, 2006, at a frail 19 ounces apiece.

“They’re doing really good,” dad said. “They’ve come a long way from one pound.”

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And here is the fight promotional poster from his upcoming pro debut.


If anyone reads this who didn't get the mass email I sent out and who would like tickets, please feel free to email me. As you can see....we're VERY excited about this new chapter in our lives!