On October 29th one of Robert Garcia’s most talented prospects will be having his first fight as a professional fighter. Manny Rodriguez has been in the gym helping Mikey Garcia get ready for his southpaw opponent in Sandor Martin. Rodriguez goes by the nickname Baby and serves a very unique part of the team because of the weight division he campaigns at but more importantly because of his southpaw stance. He had over 100 amateur bouts and was being heavily recruited by both the USA Olympic Team and Mexican Olympic Team. Garcia’s plan for Rodriguez is to fight at the junior middleweight division, 154 lbs and possibly even get him as low as welterweight.
Rodriguez comes from a boxing family. He is the youngest son to Jose Rodriguez of Indio, CA. Rodriguez's older brothers are both fighters. Jacob, the oldest of the three boys no longer competes but had a very impressive amateur career. Ruben, the second oldest son took a few years break from boxing in his late teens but made a very impressive return as a pro. In a matter of two years he built up a professional record of 10-1. Ruben has been sparring highly ranked contender Vergil Ortiz of Grand Prairie, TX for years even prior to them joining Robert Garcia’s Team RGBA. They have helped each other get ready for many of their training camps. Ruben fights in the junior welterweight division and even though Ortiz has moved up a division to 147 welterweight they continue to work together. An injury has kept Ruben out of the ring for a few months but his return should come at the beginning of 2022.
In late August I visited the gym in Riverside, CA and caught a glimpse of Rodriguez doing a few rounds of sparring with Mikey Garcia. I had previously seen them spar but that was over a year and half ago as Mikey prepared for his fight versus southpaw Errol Spence in March of 2020. In sparring you have to take into account that a fighter might not look the same as fight night, the fighters might be working on a specific tasks for that session of sparring. Rodriguez looked sharp, fast and his footwork was impressive.
Also making his pro-debut is Erik Aguirre of Riverside, CA. He has been training at the gym for several months and served as the primary sparring for welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz of Grand Prairie, TX. Aguirre and his older brother, who campaigns at 168, have earned their way onto the team.
The details on the October 29th bout have not yet been released just yet but Garcia has announced the location, a city near Cancun, MX where Alexis Espino recently fought. Look out for these highly talented prospects coming out of Robert Garcia's gym.
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