Boxing: Rodriguez, Baker Ready to Steal the Show from Headliners on PBC’s NBC Card

Premier Boxing Champions returns to network television once again on Saturday afternoon, as the fastest-growing company in professional boxing will televise a double-header on NBC.

Headlined by the super middleweight championship bout between Andre Dirrell and James DeGale for the IBF belt, PBC promises a solid day of fistic action.

But one fight does not a great card make, as Al Haymon’s team will also showcase an important light heavyweight showdown between Edwin Rodriguez and Craig Baker. The encounter comes at a critical point in both fighters’ careers. Though a loss certainly won’t cripple any movement going forward, a win will assuredly help catapult the victor into much more lucrative bouts.

In the final days leading up to their fight on Saturday, both claimed to be in the best shape of their lives, more focused than ever, and aiming to have his hand raised when it’s over. The two light heavies chatted with the media during a conference call early in the week and while there wasn’t any verbal barbs thrown at one another, neither man lacked confidence.

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“I'm ready to show the world that I'm one of the best or the best 175-pound fighters in the world,” said Rodriguez, a Dominican who fights out of Worcester, Mass. “I just got to prove it and this is one of the steps to do it, fighting an undefeated fighter, Craig Baker, who's hungry and I'm excited because I know that he's hungry. I'm hungry to get at that elite level. It's going to be a great fight for the fans.”

Rodriguez is the betting favorite going in and it’s not because he’s been on the bigger stage thus far in his career; it’s also because he’s fighting near his hometown and expects to have a huge crowd advantage over his challenger.

However, Baker doesn’t seem fazed by it.

“At the end of the day (fighting in his hometown) doesn't really matter to me because everyone is out to pretty much beat the crap out of you,” said Baker, who hails from Texas. “So, it doesn't matter where you fight. It's the competition, and that's how I take it.”

One of the main elements of the fight that the experts continuously point to is the notion that Rodriguez (26-1, 17 KOs) has taken on much stiffer competition. His lone loss came at the hands of pound-for-pound great Andre Ward 18 months ago and he’s locked horns with such men like Jason Escalera, James McGirt Jr., Donovan George and Azea Ausgustama. He already has competed for a world championship (Ward) and that was on a major televised card.

Baker, on the other hand, is about to take the biggest test of his career; his résumé is littered with foes mostly with losing records. Still, he is unbeaten at 16-0 with 12 KOs and that’s something Rodriguez isn’t about to look past.

“He's a hungry fighter and it doesn't matter who he's fought,” Rodriguez said. “He's undefeated and you can't take an undefeated fighter lightly, especially one that defeated a guy that had over 400 amateur fights and was a big prospect in the pros, like (Umberto) Savigne. You can't take a guy like Craig Baker lightly.

“I know that a fighter who's undefeated comes in with a very strong mentality and I'm ready,” ‘La Bomba’ added. “I've been working hard for this fight knowing that this guy is undefeated and I have to take that away from him. But at the same time, we've got to respect everyone because we're all competitors and it's all about looking good and winning and he's just in my way right now.”

Baker stated that he has dreamed of a fight this big his entire life and he knows he has to bring his A-game into battle. He’ll have to be on point every minute of the contest because Rodriguez is somebody well above what “El Gato Negro” is accustomed to fighting.

Rodriguez was complimentary of his opponent, but he did intimate that his sights are on light heavyweight powerhouse Adonis Stevenson.

“Right now, I'm focused on Baker,” Rodriguez said. “He's an undefeated hungry fighter, but that's the goal. I want to fight the best guy so I can prove that I'm the best. Adonis Stevenson is a good fighter. He has proved he's the world champion and that's who I want in the future. So, I'm just setting myself up and I'm working hard to look impressive against Baker and to get my opportunity to show the world that I'm on the best.”

Could that spell doom for the local hero? For someone like Baker, who has yet to taste the big time, this could be his chance to play the role of the ultimate spoiler. The boxing world will know in a few days whether Rodriguez will trip over Baker, a fighter some believe is just a stepping stool.