Open letter by Dmitriy Salita: “I have learned that Ricky Hattons’ fight with Manny Pacquio is off. I would like nothing more than the opportunity to fight Ricky. Ricky is considered by many the best Jr. Welterweight in the world. I have been to two of his fights against my friends and fellow NYC fighters. I guarantee that 3rd time will not be the charm. I see many mistakes in Ricky’s game that I will capitalize on. It will be a holiday for my fans, and a day of rude awakening for my critics. And there is no Ricky wonderland in NYC.”, Dmitriy Salita
Edwin Rodriguez passes another test in Biloxi
WORCESTER, Mass. (January 22, 2009) – Unbeaten middleweight prospect Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez received a B+ grade from his head trainer, Peter Manfredo, Sr., for the 2-time national amateur champion’s performance last Saturday night against veteran “Bad Ass” Brad Austin (8-6, 2 KOs) at the Beau Rivage Resort Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.
In his first scheduled 8-round bout, Rodriguez floored Austin four times en route to a third-round stoppage of Austin on the off-televised portion of the HBO card, headlined by the Andre Berto-Luis Collazo WBC welterweight title fight.
“I was happy with my performance but I feel I could have done better,” Rodriguez said. “I hurt him in the first round and felt I should have stopped him then. But I got antsy trying to take him out. I went back to using the short punches that had hurt him. I just got caught up in the moment. I hurt him a few more times and I knew the knockout was coming. I just had to stop looking for it. I made a mistake but learned from it and that’s important. I was really excited to fight after working so hard for four months. All of the hard worked paid-off; I was able to perform the way I’m supposed to.”
The Dominican Republic-born Rodriguez (9-0, 6 KOs), fighting out of Worcester (MA), had taken four months off to concentrate on training and his imporvements showed in the ring. “He accomplished a lot of things that we worked on,” Manfredo said. “He’s really becoming a good pro fighter, switching over from a good amateur. He used his jab well, not only to set-up combinations, but to keep his opponent off balance. Austin had a good amateur background, eight wins as a pro, and his losses were to some good fighters. But he could never muster a threat against Edwin. He tried to take away Edwin’s jab in the second round by throwing wide right hooks, but Edwin adjusted with some good check-hooks. He fought a very good fight. Defensively, he was much better, not pulling away standing straight up. I give him a B+. I was extremely pleased with the outcome and what he did in the ring.”
Rodriguez’ manager, Larry Army, agreed 100-percent with Manfredo’s assessment. “Edwin looked great,” he commented. “Everything he worked on for those four months, he put together. I had seen streaks of brilliance and loads of potential from Edwin, but he had never put it all together in one fight until last Saturday night. He showed everybody a glimmer of what he can do in the future. This was the right show for us against a tough opponent. It was a great opportunity for Edwin, who picked apart Austin from the start. We’re hoping Edwin will be back in action at the end of February.”
Go online to www.edwinrodriguezboxing.com for more information about the 23-year-old Rodriguez.
Tony Jeffries suffers pro set back
Olympic bronze medallist Tony Jeffries has seen his deal with Sheffield based boxing promoter Dennis Hobson collapse. Hobson failed to secure a television deal for the 23-year-old.
Jeffries told Setanta Sports News he felt let down by what had happened. He said:
“I feel very disappointed. Dennis has been let down and that’s let me down. I thought I was going to be fighting in Sunderland on my debut. I was looking forward to it.
“I don’t know what to do. I’ve got no idea where I go next. It’s recent news, I only found out yesterday.”
Jeffries remains hopeful about what he can achieve in boxing in the future. He added:
“I’ve already had a couple of promoters on the phone that want to speak to me. It’s not all doom and gloom.
“I want to achieve big things in the professional game.”