David el Nino Rodriguez 36(35)-1(1) back in action after upset KO loss to DING

Last winter, David Rodriguez made an unheralded comeback after an attack on his life and knee surgery.

He went to to toe trying to KO Ding to the body, forgetting to go upstairs with his R hand at all.

Ding came in ballooned and looked soft to the body, but as is often the case, a spare tire don't make your liver any easier to crack.

Ding, the much smaller man, gladly took the body shots b/c he was able to counter Nino upstairs and a war broke out. Nino to the body, Ding obliging Nino by firing monster hooks to the head.

It was a see-saw battle, back and forth, and most had Nino up 4 rds to 1 going into the 6th.

In the 6th rd, Nino traded with Ding and finally succumbed to the L hook to the head, dropping an exhausted Nino for the full count.

It was his first loss, and Nino is now going 100% in preparation and says he'll now fight anyone, anytime for any reasonable $$$. (He had priced himself out vs Arreola and Johnathan Banks).

He's in fantastic shape, and he's fighting veteran African tough guy Raymond Ochieng this Friday night in his home town of el Paso TX.

He's challenged 45 yo Bronco Billy Wright if he comes out on top this w/e.

:good:good:good

 

:good

Yeah, he was all but signed to fight Banks, prepared to go to Germany on 10 days notice, but they lowballed him by offering him 25K. Gavern took the $$$ and drew with Banks. I think Nino, at that time, woulda decapitated him.

He also refused to fight Arreola for 30K, back in 09. Hindsights 20/20, but he coulda been the guy to crack Arreola once iron jaw.

He says he won't turn down big fights due to low $$$ now, and if he gets past Ochieng and Wright, it will put him back into the ABCs.

Maybe a fight with Briggs will happen. :think

 

Like I said, he priced himself out of 2 fights he felt he was lowballed on.

He was also supposed to fight Boystov when they were both prospects back in 2010. Boystov ducked the fight, and GBP dumped him b/c he didnt make it. They were promoting him in the USA, and all but had the fight lined up on HBO.

So if he'd have gotten Arreola, Boystov, and Banks when he was prime, pre injuries, he would likely have not had to take so many lower C level fights.:think

 

We've all heard the saying......"once they crack"

seems such is the case in the Rodriguez storyline. He was apprehensive from the opening bell, and quickly lost composure as soon as Ochieng fired a shot.

Cant believe it myself. He was "SUPPOSED" to be in top shape. He was big in all the wrong places. He was supposed to be confident. They say he looked "scared".

2 yrs of believing him that he was in the gym only to see him show up on TMZ at a Hollywood party. 2 yrs of him saying he working on his dedication to the sport, and I hear some random talk show host coaxing him into talking about alien abductions and how El Paso has a large population of CIA agentsatsch

Im beginning to believe that over the past 2 yrs, that Charlie Zellenoff was a more dedicated fighter.:yep

Did I just type what I think I typed.

 

And to the DIEHARD Rahman fans...... (Im more of an admirer) I feel your pain.

You followed a fighter you were probably the only handful of ppl who believed he was working and in shape. You touted him and believed he could achieve some semblance of success even at 40+.

I felt that way bout David, and was resign to continue to believe him since last yr when he lost a tough KO loss to Ding. He was in an even fight with a tough nut and got caught with 1 sec left. His defense was shiit, and he went downstairs entirely too much on a guy who wasnt hiding or running, and he took 100 bombs right on the jaw before finally breaking.

It's been a turbulent last 2 1/2 yrs as a Nino fan. No, 3 yrs since watching him destroy Owen Beck in far better fashion that Wilder or Szpilka could vs a MORE broken fighter.

I think Ding exposed Rodriguez to rodriguez than he did to me and a handful of others who thought it mighta just been rust or overconfidence. He was fat and slow and nervous and didnt want to fight. Not the attitude of a winner. atschatsch