EDWIN RODRIGUEZ REEMERGES

I wrote a story on the Lowell Golden Gloves tournament at Lowell Memorial Auditorium in 2005 and had the privilege of meeting a few promising athletes. Danny O'Connor, Demetrius Andrade and Edwin Rodriguez were just three of the many boxers I spoke to that night. Because of their boxing skills, personality and potential, I kept an eye on their careers.

O'Connor went on to become an Olympic alternate at the Beijing Olympics and later turned pro in Manchester, N.H. He's now 10-0 with three knockouts and is headlining his first card Friday night at Twin River Casino in Rhode island.

Andrade was a medal hopeful in Beijing, but he bowed out of the Games unexpectedly. He is now a pro with a 9-0, seven-KO record, and has several national television appearances under his belt.

Even though I follow boxing pretty closely, I seemed to lose track, though, of Rodriguez, a smiley kid from Worcester who seemed so excited about the chance to go to the nationals.But when I finally caught up Rodriguez, I found out that between that Golden Gloves tournament and our latest meeting, it had been a long and bumpy road for the now 25-year-old fighter. But as difficult as it was, he says he wouldn't change it for anything.

Following the Lowell tournament, Rodriguez went on to win several national tournaments, including the U.S. Nationals that same year and the National Golden Gloves tournament in 2006. He seemed be on the same Olympic path as his fellow New Englanders O'Connor and Andrade. Then, in November of 2006, his fiancee, Stephanie Rapa, gave birth to twins, Edwin Jr. and Serena Lynn, 17 weeks premature. They were not in good health and had to be kept on life support. Edwin and Stephanie were faced with questions that no one should have to answer, especially new parents.

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HBO SPORTS PRESIDENT STILL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT A

MANNY PACQUIAO - FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. FIGHT

Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey are squaring off on HBO pay-per-view on Saturday. It’s not for just a belt or payday, but for a much bigger future opportunity.

Pacquiao already had a gargantuan payday in his sights when a little squabble over needles crashed the party. The top pound-for-pound fighter eventually moved on and is slated to fight Clottey at the brand-new Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Sadly, no matter how good this fight might be, no one cares. All thoughts are still on a potential showdown between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

We caught up with HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg a few weeks ago. Greenburg was in Boston promoting a Larry Bird and Magic Johnson documentary, but he was more than happy to chat a little boxing and didn’t shy away from expressing his disappointment that the superfight never came together.

"Again, we find ourselves in the scenario where we have to have a little bit of luck and both those fighters have to win," said Greenburg, who’s been at HBO since 1978.

This past winter, he was front and center for the collapse of what could have been the biggest fight in boxing. It was a present the television veteran wasn’t expecting.

"It ruined my Christmas vacation, to be honest with you." Greenburg said. "I was on the phone probably four or five hours a day trying to make it happen."

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