Thomas Williams Jr. passes audition with second-round KO of Edwin Rodriguez; is Adonis Stevenson next?

Thomas Williams Jr. passes audition with second-round KO of Edwin Rodriguez; is Adonis Stevenson next?
Mark E. Ortega
USA TODAY
April 30, 2016

CARSON, Calif. – Two fights ago, Thomas Williams Jr. had his top prospect status revoked when he was stopped by former champion Gabriel Campillo. Williams has now emerged as a legitimate contender at 175 pounds after stopping Edwin Rodriguez in the second round of their slugfest.

Click here to read the rest...

Ward dominates Rodriguez in return

Ward dominates Rodriguez in return
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
November 19, 2013


ONTARIO, Calif. – Despite more than a year away from the ring, Oakland super middleweight champion Andre Ward returned to his dominant self, nearly shutting out the previously unbeaten Edwin Rodriguez over twelve lopsided rounds on Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The bout was televised live by HBO and saw Ward (27-0, 14 knockouts) prove yet again why he is one of the two or three best fighters in the world.

When the first bell rang, Rodriguez (24-1, 16 KOs) charged hard at Ward in an attempt to catch him off guard. Rodriguez was aggressive throughout the contest, but Ward was always able to use that aggression against him as he landed clean counter punches on a regular basis.

Click here to read the rest...

Andre Ward returns after layoff

Andre Ward returns after layoff
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
November 14, 2013


It’ll have been 14 months since Oakland’s Andre Ward (26-0, 14 knockouts) looked across the ring at an opponent looking to dethrone him from his position as the king of the super middleweight division when he meets Edwin Rodriguez (24-0, 16 KOs) on Saturday night in an HBO televised affair.

Oakland’s Ward, who also boasts being the last American boxer to win Olympic gold back in the 2004 Games, will meet a younger opponent for the first time in six years.

Rodriguez, a Dominican who hails from Worcester, Mass., is just a year younger than Ward but enters this weekend’s contest with less wear and tear than the favorite. Ward has faced the division’s top guys since first winning a 168-pound title four years ago, almost to the day. With that, Ward has accrued a number of injuries, including a recent shoulder injury that kept him sidelined all of 2013

Click here to read the rest...

Ward-Rodriguez bout set

Ward-Rodriguez bout set
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
October 6, 2013


It will have been fourteen months when undefeated super middleweight champion and Bay Area native Andre Ward steps into the ring again, but a date and opponent have finally been set.

Ward will meet unbeaten rising contender Edwin Rodriguez at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., as part of an HBO telecast. Ward appeared in the squared circle last September when he stopped reigning light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson in Oakland at the Oracle Arena.

Ward is returning from a right shoulder injury that he had surgery on in the early part of the year. Initially, he was slated to face former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, but multiple delays lead to the eventual cancellation of the fight and a search for a new opponent.

Click here to read the rest...