An opponent has been set for rising pro prospect Edwin Rodriguez’s next fight. The unbeaten Rodriguez (9-0, 6 KO’s) will meet Nebraska’s Patrick Thompson (15-13, 5 KO’s) in a 8 round bout with a contracted weight limit of 165 pounds. The fight will take place in the hometown of Rodriguez, Worcester, Massachusetts, at Mechanics Hall and is promoted by Dibella Entertainment as part of their “Broadway Boxing” TV series.
“He’s a gatekeeper”, Rodriguez manager Larry Army said of Patrick Thompson, “He’s only lost to good fighters and even some of those were close split and majority decision losses.”
Rodriguez has been steadily taking on better opposition as his career has progressed. Last August, he won a unanimous decision over Florida’s Marcus Upshaw, who would hold then top 10 middleweight James McGirt Jr. to a draw in his next fight.
In his last bout, he KO’d Tennessee’s Brad Austin in 3 rounds.
Patrick Thompson sports the record of a journeyman. Most of his losses have come to noteworthy fighters such as John Duddy, Joe Greene, Ishe Smith and Giovanni Lorenzo.
“Thompson usually goes the distance with guys. He’s only been knocked out once, by Alfonso Gomez, and that was early on in his career before anyone knew how good Gomez was”, said Army, “If Edwin can knock him out, it’ll be a nice feather in his cap.”
The undercard sports Vietnamese junior featherweight Dat Nguyen (14-1, 6 KO’s), who now makes his home in Vero Beach, Florida, taking on Alex “Ali” Baba (26-14, 19 KO’s) and unbeaten Brooklyn super middleweight Phillip Benson (2-0, 2 KO’s) vs. Dameon Marshall.
Larry Army says if the show is well attended, Dibella Entertainment may bring more shows to Worcester including possible fight cards to be broadcast on HBO and Showtime.
