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Saul “Neno” Rodriguez Returns to RGBA to Reload
Several years ago, Saul “Neno” Rodriguez was tabbed best new prospect by British journalists and was involved in a tug of war between rival boxing promotion companies vying for his services, but then came that day:
“I got caught and got sloppy,” said Rodriguez.
Getting sloppy might be satisfactory for actors, singers or painters, but in the world of prizefighting it can lead to a knockout loss in front of a nationwide television audience. It can also lead to losing a promotional contract with Top Rank.
That all occurred on June 28, 2019. For Rodriguez, that was a night that will live in infamy.
The lean machine-gun punching fighter who looks like a 16-year-old lost his promoter and ranking when he exchanged bombs with Mexican fighter Miguel Angel Gonzalez and was stopped in the third round at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula.
It was a furious firefight and after 24 previous battles this time the dice rolled for the other guy.
Armed with redemption in his soul, the 26-year-old Riverside native Rodriguez (24-1-1, 18 KOs) won by knockout last Saturday in Texas and is eager to reclaim his place among the top prizefighters in the world without a world title.
Now he is a full-fledged lightweight.
Returning to the upper ladder of respectability and recognition takes time and refinement. There can be no slip-ups while re-building one’s reputation. But understanding that also takes self-evaluation.
“I need to work on my defense,” said Rodriguez quickly.
Rodriguez realized he needed to start over and had found success working with Robert Garcia and family. When the Riverside boxer first turned professional it was under the guidance of the Garcia family then led by Eduardo Garcia. They call him “Big G” and he is the father to Mikey and Robert and one of the geniuses of the sport.
“I learned a lot under the Garcias especially defense,” said Rodriguez who made a call and was accepted back to their fold.
Return to Normalcy
As an amateur Rodriguez was known for his flashing power and knockout wins. Despite head gear and thicker gloves, the skinny Riverside teen exploded on opponents and wrecked anyone in front of him. Crowds would gather anytime he would enter a boxing ring to see how he would perform.
The Garcias are always on the hunt for talent and during one of the amateur tournaments they spotted Rodriguez and invited him to their camp. Back in 2011 the Garcia’s gym was still located in Oxnard, though both Eduardo Garcia and Mikey Garcia had already moved to Riverside County.
Rodriguez was signed and though he still occasionally trained in Riverside, he would also train in Oxnard.
“I lived with the Garcias when I trained in Oxnard,” said Rodriguez. “They always treated me well, like family.”
From 2011 to 2016 the Riverside fighter ripped through opposition beginning with a one round destruction of a fighter named William Fisher at the Commerce Casino. Rodriguez walked in with a tight guard, chin tucked in and fired blows in a blur. The fight lasted less than a minute but those in attendance knew Rodriguez was special.
When Rodriguez’s contract with Top Rank neared the end, the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside was already built and most of his team moved there. One day Floyd Mayweather walked into the gym to take a look around and get acquainted with a few of the young fighters including Rodriguez.
Near the end of December 2016 Mayweather visited Rodriguez again with an offer that could not be beat by rival promoters. He signed with Mayweather.
Another problem was the managerial aspect. Rodriguez decided he did not need a manager and instead parted ways with his former manager and also the Garcias who co-managed Rodriguez.
“We left on good terms, there were no bad feelings,” said Rodriguez.
Things didn’t pop with the Las Vegas-based promoter though not that they didn’t try. It’s just different when promoters have large television contracts. Mayweather Promotions did not have the clout to keep Rodriguez busy and he waited and waited.
Those few times Rodriguez entered the ring he looked out-of-sync and exposed. The tight guard was gone, the look of a hunter was replaced by a calm but less confident face of an inspector.
Rodriguez asked Mayweather Promotions to release him from contract and they did. After some months of lobbying, Top Rank re-signed Rodriguez and he competed on a Texas card and promptly won by second round knockout over Claudio Tapia in El Paso on November 2018.
Another win in Fresno on the undercard of Jose Carlos Ramirez title defense a year ago kept him busy. But four months later he returned to the boxing ring to perform in front of friends, family and fans at nearby Temecula. He lost the firefight and all of his many supporters were crushed.
One of those watching the fight was former trainer Robert Garcia.
“He’ll come back. A loss doesn’t mean its over,” said Garcia that night. “He is too good to not come back.”
The good ones always come back.
When Roberto Duran was kayoed by Tommy Hearns in 1984 many felt his career was done. But the Panamanian-Mexican returned at age 37 to knock down and defeat Iran Barkley for the WBC middleweight title in 1989. It was one of the most shocking upsets in the decade. Duran would fight another 12 years until he was 50 years old.
Of course, not everyone can be like Duran but many others have returned from knockout defeats like Manny Pacquiao, Tommy Hearns, Marco Antonio Barrera and others. The good ones find a way.
Reloading
Several months ago, Rodriguez realized that under Garcia’s family guidance he was at his best form and asked to return. The Garcia’s consented and now the Riverside lightweight feels comfortable.
“It was never bad between us,” said Rodriguez who actually lives close to the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside. “It has changed a little, there are more fighters.”
One huge perk of training at RGBA is the abundance of talented fighters at camp on any day. It’s basically an army of three dozen elite prizefighters that spar each other at a moment’s notice under the guidance of the Garcia family consisting of Robert, Mikey, Robert Jr. “Pita” and of course the patriarch Eduardo.
Their combined boxing knowledge provides staggering results.
When Rodriguez returned, on one particular day, he was told to spar several of the younger undefeated fighters near his weight class. His instructions were clear: do not let them hit you cleanly.
“They just wanted me to use my defense and movement,” said Rodriguez. “They know my offense is there but I needed to be more defensive. I sparred some of the guys and just moved around and wasn’t allowed to punch back hard. It’s good practice.”
Since Rodriguez departed several years ago a few new faces have arrived including world champions Jose Carlos Ramirez and Abner Mares and also Vergil Ortiz Jr.
“They’re real cool guys,” said Rodriguez of the champions.
Of course, Mikey Garcia remains an integral part of the RGBA camp and a week ago was back at work showing his talent in a decisive win over the much bigger Jessie Vargas. It was a powerful demonstration and witnessed by many of the RGBA army who watched.
“That’s why he’s one of the best,” said Rodriguez. “He is going to surprise the other welterweights.”
Rodriguez feels he’s back where he belongs and ready to reload on the talented lightweight division.
“Yes, there is a lot of talent in the lightweights with guys like Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia,” said Rodriguez. “I like that. It’s my time.”
Time to resurface.
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Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
There’s not much happening on the boxing front this month. That’s consistent with the historical pattern.
Fight promoters of yesteryear tended to pull back after the Christmas and New Year holidays on the assumption that fight fans had less discretionary income at their disposal. Weather was a contributing factor. In olden days, more boxing cards were staged outdoors and the most attractive match-ups tended to be summertime events.
There were exceptions, of course. On Jan. 17, 1941, an SRO crowd of 23,180 filled Madison Square Garden to the rafters to witness the welterweight title fight between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. (This was the third Madison Square Garden, situated at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue, roughly 17 blocks north of the current Garden which sits atop Pennsylvania Station. The first two arenas to take this name were situated farther south adjacent to Madison Square Park).
This was a rematch. They had fought here in October of the previous year. In a shocker, Zivic won a 15-round decision. The fight was close on the scorecards. Referee Arthur Donovan and one of the judges had it even after 14 rounds, but Zivic had won his rounds more decisively and he punctuated his well-earned triumph by knocking Armstrong face-first to the canvas as the final bell sounded.
This was a huge upset.
Armstrong had a rocky beginning to his pro career, but he came on like gangbusters after trainer/manager Eddie Mead acquired his contract with backing from Broadway and Hollywood star Al Jolson. Heading into his first match with Zivic – the nineteenth defense of the title he won from Barney Ross – Hammerin’ Henry had suffered only one defeat in his previous 60 fights, that coming in his second meeting with Lou Ambers, a controversial decision.
Shirley Povich, the nationally-known sports columnist for the Washington Post, conducted an informal survey of boxing insiders and found only person who gave Zivic a chance. The dissident was Chris Dundee (then far more well-known than his younger brother Angelo). “Zivic knows all the tricks,” said Dundee. “He’ll butt Armstrong with his head, gouge him with his thumbs and hit him just as low as Armstrong [who had five points deducted for low blows in his bout with Ambers].”
Indeed, Pittsburgh’s Ferdinand “Fritzie” Zivic, the youngest and best of five fighting sons of a Croatian immigrant steelworker (Fritzie’s two oldest brothers represented the U.S. at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics) would attract a cult following because of his facility for bending the rules. It would be said that no one was more adept at using his thumbs to blind an opponent or using the laces of his gloves as an anti-coagulant, undoing the work of a fighter’s cut man.
Although it was generally understood that at age 28 his best days were behind him, Henry Armstrong was chalked the favorite in the rematch (albeit a very short favorite) a tribute to his body of work. Although he had mastered Armstrong in their first encounter, most boxing insiders considered Fritzie little more than a high-class journeyman and he hadn’t looked sharp in his most recent fight, a 10-round non-title affair with lightweight champion Lew Jenkins who had the best of it in the eyes of most observers although the match was declared a draw.
The Jan. 17 rematch was a one-sided affair. Veteran New York Times scribe James P. Dawson gave Armstrong only two rounds before referee Donovan pulled the plug at the 52-second mark of the twelfth round. Armstrong, boxing’s great perpetual motion machine, a world title-holder in three weight classes, repaired to his dressing room bleeding from his nose and his mouth and with both eyes swollen nearly shut. But his effort could not have been more courageous.
At the conclusion of the 10th frame, Donovan went to Armstrong’s corner and said something to the effect, “you will have to show me something, Henry, or I will have to stop it.” What followed was Armstrong’s best round.
“[Armstrong] pulled the crowd to its feet in as glorious a rally as this observer has seen in twenty-five years of attendance at these ring battles,” wrote Dawson. But Armstrong, who had been stopped only once previously, that coming in his pro debut, had punched himself out and had nothing left.
Armstrong retired after this fight, siting his worsening eyesight, but he returned in the summer of the following year, soldiering on for 46 more fights, winning 37 to finish 149-21-10. During this run, he was reacquainted with Fritzie Zivic. Their third encounter was fought in San Francisco before a near-capacity crowd of 8,000 at the Civic Auditorium and Armstrong got his revenge, setting the pace and working the body effectively to win a 10-round decision. By then the welterweight title had passed into the hands of Freddie Cochran.
Hammerin’ Henry (aka Homicide Hank) Armstrong was named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1990. Fritzie Zivic followed him into the Hall three years later.
Active from 1931 to 1949, Zivic lost 65 of his 231 fights – the most of anyone in the Hall of Fame, a dubious distinction – but there was yet little controversy when he was named to the Canastota shrine because one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who had fought a tougher schedule. Aside from Armstrong and Jenkins, he had four fights with Jake LaMotta, four with Kid Azteca, three with Charley Burley, two with Sugar Ray Robinson, two with Beau Jack, and singles with the likes of Billy Conn, Lou Ambers, and Bob Montgomery. Of the aforementioned, only Azteca, in their final meeting in Mexico City, and Sugar Ray, in their second encounter, were able to win inside the distance.
By the way, it has been written that no event of any kind at any of the four Madison Square Gardens ever drew a larger crowd than the crowd that turned out on Jan. 17, 1941, to see the rematch between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. Needless to say, prizefighting was big in those days.
A recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling, TSS editor-in-chief Arne K. Lang is the author of five books including “Prizefighting: An American History,” released by McFarland in 2008 and re-released in a paperback edition in 2020.
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Jai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
In his fifth title defense, lineal cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) successfully defended his belt with a brutal fourth-round stoppage of former sparring partner David Nyika. The bout was contested in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia where Opetaia won the IBF title in 2022 with a hard-earned decision over Maris Briedis with Nyika on the undercard. Both fighters reside in the general area although Nyika, a former Olympic bronze medalist, hails from New Zealand.
The six-foot-six Nyika, who was undefeated in 10 pro fights with nine KOs, wasn’t afraid to mix it up with Opetaia although had never fought beyond five rounds and took the fight on three weeks’ notice when obscure German campaigner Huseyin Cinkara suffered an ankle injury in training and had to pull out. He wobbled Opetaia in the second round in a fight that was an entertaining slugfest for as long as it lasted.
In round four, the champion but Nyika on the canvas with his patented right uppercut and then finished matters moments later with a combination climaxed with an explosive left hand. Nyika was unconscious before he hit the mat.
Opetaia’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants Opetaia to unify the title and then pursue a match with Oleksandr Usyk. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, a Golden Boy Promotions fighter, holds the WBA and WBO versions of the title and is expected to be Opetaia’s next opponent. The WBC diadem is in the hands of grizzled Badou Jack.
Other Fights of Note
Brisbane heavyweight Justis Huni (12-0, 7 KOs) wacked out overmatched South African import Shaun Potgieter (10-2), ending the contest at the 33-second mark of the second round. The 25-year-old, six-foot-four Huni turned pro in 2020 after losing a 3-round decision to two-time Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov. There’s talk of matching him with England’s 20-year-old sensation Moses Itauma which would be a delicious pairing.
Eddie Hearn’s newest signee Teremoana Junior won his match even quicker, needing less than a minute to dismiss Osasu Otobo, a German heavyweight of Nigerian descent.
The six-foot-six Teremoana, who akin to Huni hails from Brisbane and turned pro after losing to the formidable Jalolov, has won all six of his pro fights by knockout while answering the bell for only eight rounds. He has an interesting lineage; his father is from the Cook Islands.
Rising 20-year-old Max “Money” McIntyre, a six-foot-three super middleweight, scored three knockdowns en route to a sixth-round stoppage of Abdulselam Saman, advancing his record to 7-0 (6 KOs). As one can surmise, McIntyre is a big fan of Floyd Mayweather.
The Opetaia-Nyika fight card aired on DAZN pay-per-view (39.99) in the Antipodes and just plain DAZN elsewhere.
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R.I.P. Paul Bamba (1989-2024): The Story Behind the Story
Paul Bamba, a cruiserweight, passed away at age 35 on Dec. 27 six days after defeating Rogelio Medina before a few hundred fans on a boxing card at a performing arts center in Carteret, New Jersey. No cause of death has been forthcoming, leading to rampant speculation. Was it suicide, or perhaps a brain injury, and if the latter was it triggered by a pre-existing condition?
Fuel for the latter comes in the form of a letter that surfaced after his death. Dated July 25, 2023, it was written by Dr. Alina Sharinn, a board-certified neurologist licensed in New York and Florida.
“Mr. Bamba has suffered a concussion and an episode of traumatic diplopia within the past year and now presents with increasing headaches. His MRI of the brain revealed white matter changes in both frontal lobes,” wrote Bamba’s doctor.
Her recommendation was that he stop boxing temporarily while also avoiding any other activity at which he was at risk of head trauma.
Dr. Sherinn’s letter was written three months after Bamba was defeated by Chris Avila in a 4-round contest in New Orleans. He lost all four rounds on all three scorecards, reducing his record to 5-3.
Bamba took a break from boxing after fighting Avila. Eight months would elapse before he returned to the ring. His next four fights were in Santa Marta, Colombia, against opponents who were collectively 4-23 at the time that he fought them. The most experienced of the quartet, Victor Coronado, was 38 years old.
He won all four inside the distance and ten more knockouts would follow, the last against Medina in a bout sanctioned by the World Boxing Association for the WBA Gold title. As widely reported, the stoppage, his 14th, broke Mike Tyson’s record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year. That would have been a nice feather in his cap if only it were true.
Born in Puerto Rico, Paul Bamba was a former U.S. Marine who spent time in Iraq as an infantry machine gunner. In interviews on social media platforms, he is well-spoken and introspective without a trace of the boastfulness that many prizefighters exhibit when talking to an outsider. Interviewed in a corridor of the arena after stopping Medina, he was almost apologetic, acknowledging that he still had a lot to learn.
His life story is inspirational.
His early years were spent in foster homes. He was homeless for a time after returning to civilian life. Speaking with Boxing Scene’s Lucas Ketelle, Bamba said, “I didn’t have any direction after leaving the Marine corps. I hit rock bottom, couldn’t afford a place to stay…I was renting a mattress that was shoved behind someone’s sofa.”
He turned his life around when he ventured into the Morris Park Boxing Gym in the Bronx where he learned the rudiments of boxing under the tutelage of former WBA welterweight champion Aaron “Superman” Davis. “I love boxing,” he would say. “The confidence it gives you permeates into other aspects of your life.”
Bamba’s newfound confidence allowed him to carve out a successful career as a personal trainer. His most famous client was the Grammy Award winning R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo who signed Bamba to his new sports management company late in the boxer’s Knockout skein. Bamba was with Ne-Yo in Atlanta when he passed away. Ne-Yo broke the news on his Instagram platform.
Paul Bamba had been pursuing a fight with Jake Paul. Winning the WBA Gold belt opened up other potentially lucrative options. In theory, the holder of the belt is one step removed from a world title fight. Next comes an eliminator and, if he wins that one, a true title fight attached to a hefty purse will follow…in theory.
Rogelio “Porky” Medina, who brought a 42-10 record, had competed against some top-shelf guys, e.g., Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, James DeGale, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant; going the distance with DeGale and Plant. However, only two of his 42 wins had come in fights outside Mexico, at age 36 he was over the hill, and his best work had come as a super middleweight.
Thirteen months ago, Medina carried 168 ½ pounds for a match in New Zealand in which he was knocked out in the first round. He came in more than 30 pounds heavier, specifically 202 ¼, for his match with Paul Bamba. In between, he knocked out a 54-year-old man in Guadalajara to infuse his ledger with a little brighter sheen.
Why did the WBA see fit to sanction the Bamba-Medina match as a title fight? That’s a rhetorical question. And for the record, the record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year wasn’t previously held by Mike Tyson. LaMar Clark, a heavyweight from Cedar City, Utah, scored 29 consecutive knockouts in 1958 after opening the year by winning a 6-round decision. (If you are inclined to believe that all or most of those knockouts were legitimate, then perhaps I can interest you in buying the Brooklyn Bridge.)
Clark was being primped for a fight with a good purse which came when he was dispatched to Louisville to fight a fellow who was fairly new to the professional boxing scene, a former U.S. Olympian then known as Cassius Clay who knocked him out in the second round in what proved to be Clark’s final fight.
Paul Bamba was a much better fighter than LaMar Clark, of that I am quite certain. However, if Paul Bamba had gone on to meet one of the world’s elite cruiserweights, a similar outcome would have undoubtedly ensued.
One can summon up the Bamba-Medina fight on the internet although the video isn’t great – it was obviously filmed on a smart phone – and pieces of it are missing. Bamba was winning with his higher workrate when Medina took his unexpected leave, but one doesn’t have to be a boxing savant to see that Paul’s hand and foot speed were slow and that there were big holes in his defense.
This isn’t meant to be a knock on the decedent. Being able to box even four rounds at a fast clip and still be fresh is one of the most underrated achievements in all of human endurance sports. Bamba’s life story is indeed inspirational. When he talked about the importance of “giving back,” he was sincere. In an early interview, he mentioned having helped out at a Harlem food pantry.
Paul Bamba had to die to become well-known within the fight fraternity, let alone in the larger society. One hopes that his death will inspire the sport’s regulators to be more vigilant in assaying a boxer’s medical history and, if somehow his untimely death leads to the dissolution of the fetid World Boxing Association, his legacy would be even greater.
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