Ronnie Shields Talks Edwin Rodriguez-To-175

Ronnie Shields, trainer for Edwin Rodriguez, told me that the Massachusetts boxer is all done with 168, and will be next fighting at 175. On Tuesday at Gleason's in Brooklyn, during a for-media fighter workout, while his boxer Erislandy Lara chatted with press, Shields said that Rodriguez' body simply rebelled, and kept him from making weight for his fight last month against Andre Ward.

That light heavyweight division is a more sexy now, in a big way, with Sergey Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson putting their stamp on it. Shields said E-Rod would like to be in the mix, but the trainer knows the kid has to prove his worth first.

“He has to start, not from the bottom, but start at a certain place,” the trainer told me. “He's got to work his way up.”

A fight against a top 15 sort would be good starting place, Shield said.

WATCH RELATED VIDEOS ON BOXINGCHANNEL.TV