Emmanuel Rodriguez figured he had arrived in 2018.
That was the year the Puerto Rican nearly shut out Paul Butler to win the IBF 118-pound title and then successfully defending it by outpointing capable Jason Moloney five months later. He was on the rise.
And then he wasn’t.
His second defense came in 2019 against none other than Naoya Inoue, arguably the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound. Things didn’t go well, as Rodriguez went down three times and didn’t make it out of the second round.
That was followed by a disputed split-decision loss to Reymart Gaballo and a bizarre 16-second no-contest against Gary Antonio Russell, the result of a head butt that cut Rodriguez on the bridge of his nose.
Things couldn’t have been much worse for Rodriguez, who was winless in three outings and seeming far from another shot at a title. Then the pendulum swung back in his favor.
He knocked out Roberto Cantu after the Russell no-contest in March of last year and then delivered arguably his strongest performance, a 10-round technical decision in a rematch with Russell that also was truncated because of a cut.
That earned the now-31-year-old a fight with Melvin Lopez (29-1, 19 KOs) for the same belt he lost to Inoue on Saturday in Oxon Hill, Maryland (Showtime).
Rodriguez (21-2, 13 KOs) said he’s a better fighter now than he was when he last wore a championship belt.
“I’m more mature and experienced now than I was when I first won the title,” he said. “I will be the fifth world champion from Puerto Rico right now and that would be a privilege. That’s the goal in this fight.
“I guarantee you I’m gonna come out with the win on Saturday, because I’m the toughest opponent he’s ever faced.”
Rodriguez believes he’d be the toughest opponent for any bantamweight.
If he gets past Lopez, who is about a 5-1 underdog, one of Rodriguez’s fellow beltholders could come next.
Alexandro Santiago outpointed Nonito Donaire to win the vacant WBC title on July 29. Takuma Inoue, Naoya’s brother, is the WBA champ. And Moloney, Rodriguez’s earlier victim, holds the WBO title.
Whomever ends up in his face, he expects to have his hand raised. That starts against Lopez on Saturday.
“I’m gonna prove I’m the best fighter in the division,” he said. “This is gonna send a message to all the other champions that I’m here to stay.”
