TALLMADGE, Ohio — Akron boxer David Rodriguez has been fighting for most of his life, but his next appearance in the ring will be the biggest matchup of his life—fighting on the undercard of the Montana Love headline event at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Rodriguez has boxing in his blood. His father Jose is his head coach. His brother, also named Jose, boxes as well. It's something they've grown up doing.
“I’ve been boxing since I was seven, competing since I was eight. Been pro since March of 2018. It's been a long road, but it's finally here," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez Boxing Gym—where the family trains, but also where they teach classes and workouts for the community—has been around for the past six years. Before that, the work was done wherever they could get it in.
"We would bounce from gym to gym. Garage to garage. Working on our own, traveling on our own. Fight across the country. I fought in Cuba, too. It was amazing," Rodriguez recalled.
From training with star boxer "Showtime" Shawn Porter in Las Vegas to the boxing trip to Cuba in 2016 just after the travel restrictions were lifted, Rodriguez has had plenty of exciting experiences, but none that match this upcoming opportunity to fight on Love's undercard.
"Montana, called me—I was working. I work at I PROMISE. I was working, I was doing a gym class and teaching gym and he called me. He was like, 'You didn't think I was going look out for you?' And I was like, 'What are you talking about?' He's like, 'I got you a fight. Check your phone,'" Rodriguez recalled. "I looked him up on YouTube, saw about 20 seconds of his fight on ESPN, and I said, 'I'll take it,' automatically."
Rodriguez saw his opponent, Nikoloz Sekhniashvili, as a fighter he could compete with, noting how his footwork and shot selection match up with his experience. For Rodriguez, it was a no-brainer.
Now, with the fight on the books and Rodriguez training religiously in his free time, working out two to three times a day, he's looking to prove himself in the ring.
At the fight, Rodriguez will have his family and friends in attendance—his dad Jose confident that his son will put on a show.
"I expect David to showcase his talent and really impress some people," his dad said.
But the fight will also allow Rodriguez to gain more supporters, which shouldn't be hard to do with an arena full of Northeast Ohioans ready to cheer on their local fighters.
"I want to make a name for myself. I'm growing fans. As I keep announcing his fight, I'm passing out fliers on my way to work, just to groups of people. I'm just trying to spread the word about myself and promote myself," Rodriguez said.
And as for the fighter headlining the event —well, Rodriguez has his full support.
"I want Dave to go out there and be Dave, go out there and work hard. Dave works very hard. He throws a lot of punches. I don't see too many guys going to be able to outwork Dave so I want to see him go out there, give a great performance and take over his platform like he should," Love said.
Rodriguez will enter the ring Saturday Nov. 12 with fights starting at 5 p.m. inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. To learn more or get tickets, click here.
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