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."

PLEASE READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE AT NESN.COM

JOHN RUIZ TAKES ON DAVID HAYE APRIL 3RD

Two-time WBA Heavyweight champion and Massachusetts native John Ruizis getting another title shot.

Ruiz will be taking on current WBA Heavyweight champion David Hayeon April 3rd in Manchester, England. It was Haye who defeated Nikolay Valuev for the WBA strap back in November after Ruiz (the No. 1 contender) agreed to step aside and fight the winner.

"The Quiet Man" stopped by the South Boston Boxing Gym for a quick workout but as I soon found out, he's not all that quiet once you get him going. And unlike some people, he has not lost faith in the Patriots, as we dished on everything from his upcoming fight to his first car.

NESN.com: How have you changed after fighting over in Germany the past few years?

Ruiz: Yeah definitely people haven’t noticed. People think I have retired already because they haven’t seen me fight; I’ve been fighting over in Germany the past three or four years. It was a good experience, the fans were great -- I just never got a break with the decisions. I’m looking forward to moving on and fighting David Haye in England.

NESN.com: Tell me a little bit about David Haye.

Ruiz: David Haye is definitely a quick guy, he’s not going to be easy to corner him. He likes to move around a lot. The main thing is try to cut the ring off, and stay on top of him. He’s a perfect style for me because his most difficult fights are the people who basically stay on top of him and make him fight. That’s my kind of style, and I think I have a good chance.

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New England sports fans are categorized several different ways. We are, of course, a Red Sox Nation and a hockey town, but we also happen to bleed green. Plus, as Robert Kraft put it, "We are all Patriots."

But people are forgetting that this area also has a great tradition of boxing.

New England has paved the way for some of boxing's greatest and most memorable athletes. Rocky Marcianois a legendary heavyweight, and the only champion to retire undefeated.Marvin Hagler is not only one of the best middleweights of all time, but his third round TKO over Tommy Hearns is a fight that will be talked about forever. We also have to give major props to Lowell's Micky Ward for giving us a splendid career as well as three devastatingly amazing fights against Arturo Gatti.

More recently, the Northeast has spit out quite a few promising pro prospects, including Matt Godfrey, Edwin Rodriguez, Peter Manfredo Jr., Jason Estrada, Danny O'Conner and Demetrius Andrade.

What do all these fighters have in common? They have all gone through the New England Golden Gloves tournament. The Gloves has been a tradition in New England since 1964 and sells out the Lowell Memorial Auditorium year in and year out.

Continue at nesn.com

Berto, Mosley, and Mayweather, Oh my!!

What happens next?

Pacquiao & Mayweather let boxing down.

A little over a month ago, I firmly believed the state of boxing was changing for the better. Thanks to the pressure of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), the demand from fans and the overall talent in boxing, great fights were being forced to happen, pay-per-views were diminishing and boxing fans were turning their frowns upside down.

The two best pound-for-pound fighters were planning to square off in March, and some fantastic fights were just over the horizon. I don't know about you, but my glass was full of optimism for the future of the sport.

Then, they did it to us again. Shame on us for falling for it.

Please read the rest of my article.

It's the year 2010 and there is no time to waste! Who do we need to see in the ring duking it over the next year?

I know we are focused on two people that refuse to get along, but I think there are a few fights that could happen in 2010 to take our mind off of the pound for pound knuckleheads.

Check out my list of 20 fights that I would like to see in 2010.....