CONTRIBUTED PHOTOSaul Rodriguez will take on Carlos Rodriguez in an eight-round bout as part of the Oceanview Pavilion card in Port Hueneme on Saturday.
Once they graduate high school, most 18-year-olds head to college, join the work force or the enlist in the military.
When Saul Rodriguez turned 18, he received an education in boxing from renowned trainers Eduardo and Robert Garcia.
The unbeaten junior lightweight will fight Carlos Rodriguez in an eight-round bout at the Oceanview Pavilion in Port Hueneme on Saturday night. The eight-round main event will pit unbeaten junior welterweight Jose Zepeda against late-sub Orlando Vazquez.
Both bouts will be broadcast on UniMas, beginning at 8 p.m.
Saul Rodriguez (15-0-1, 12 KOs) is one of Top Rank’s highly regarded prospects. With devastating power in his six-foot frame, the Riverside native has also developed his ring generalship and skill set. The plan is for Saul Rodriguez to fight a couple of more eight-round fights this spring and summer before eventually fighting 10-round bouts later this year.
The 21-year-old splits time at a gym in Riverside with Eduardo Garcia, the longtime trainer of Fernando Vargas, and in Oxnard with Robert Garcia.
In his last fight on Dec. 6, Saul Rodriguez scored an impressive sixth-round technical knockout over Juan Ramon Solis in Glendale.
In his last bout on Dec. 20, Carlos Rodriguez (9-1, 4 KOs) stopped Walberto Gaxiola in the first round in Nuevos Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico.
The hard-hitting Zepeda (21-0, 18 KOs) scored a first-round knockout victory over former world title challenger Victor Cayo on Nov. 8. Vazquez (15-5-1, 9 KOs) of Puerto Rico has won his last two bouts by technical knockout.
Oxnard resident Abraham Lopez (5-1) will fight Bilal Mahasin (5-1) in a six-round welterweight bout. Junior lightweight Michael Franco (9-0-3, 6 KOs), who trains in Oxnard, fights Sergio Najera (8-16-2, 2 KOs) in a six-round bout.
Two more bouts round out the card.
The weigh-in will take place Friday at 3 p.m. at La Fonda del Rey restaurant (formerly Sugar Beets) in Oxnard. It will be open at the public.
Doors open Saturday at 6 p.m., with first bell scheduled for 6:30. Tickets cost between $40 and $80.
Information: 805-889-8162 or www.boxingbythebeach.com
PEREZ IN ACTION
Junior welterweight Michael Perez will fight former world title-holder Miguel Acosta on Tuesday at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
The bout will be part of a Golden Boy Promotions card and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Deportes at 5 p.m.
Originally from Newark, New Jersey, Perez (21-1-2, 10 KOs) has been working with trainer Robert Garcia in Oxnard for the last six months.
In his last bout on Sept. 6 in Cincinnati, Perez dropped Jared Robinson in the second round en route to a 10-round unanimous decision win.
Garcia is familiar with Acosta. Brandon Rios of Oxnard won the WBA lightweight title from Acosta in February 2011. The Venezuelan-born Acosta (29-7-2, 23 KOs) has lost his last three bouts.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Three fighters that live or train in Ventura County fought last weekend with mixed results.
On Friday night, welterweight Francisco Santana (22-3-1, 11 KOs) scored a resounding first-round knockout over Kendal Mena. Santana, who trains at Knuckleheadz Gym in Ventura, landed a left hook that dropped Mena flat onto his back, prompting referee Jack Reiss of Oxnard to immediately stop the bout at 1:43.
Santana, who resides in Santa Barbara, has won his last 10 bouts. Mena, who was fighting outside of his native Dominican Republic for the first time, fell to 20-1, 11 KOs.
Also on Friday, lightweight Ivan Redkach stopped Yakubu Amidu after the sixth round at the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon.
After a slow start, the Ukrainian-born Redkach (18-0, 14 KOs) began to dominate Amidu with each passing round. Redkach, who is trained by Robert Garcia, dropped Amidu twice in the sixth round. The bout was stopped when Amidu (21-6-2, 19 KOs) did not come out for the seventh round.
On Saturday night, Erik Ruiz (13-2, 6 KOs) of Oxnard lost an eight-round unanimous decision to Jessie Magdaleno at the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas. Ruiz, a 2010 Oxnard High graduate, came to fight, but Magdaleno (20-0, 15 KOs) landed the more telling blows, winning 80-72 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Also on the Top Rank card, light heavyweight Zlatko Ledic (1-3-1, 1 KO) of Thousand Oaks stopped Jonathan Blue (0-2) in the second round.