Boxing’s dreaded red corner – relegated to the challenger, the underdog and, typically, the expected loser – can serve as the perfect source of motivation to the boxer with the ideal temperament.
In two consecutive fights, Julian Rodriguez has proven to be that man.
The New Jersey welterweight will return to the ring Sunday night in the co-main event of Zuffa Boxing’s Paramount+ card from the Meta Apex when he meets a third consecutive unbeaten foe, James Perella, 21-0 (15 KOs), after his consecutive breakthrough victories.
First, in June, Rodriguez, 31, confronted a new Jake Paul signee for Most Valuable Promotions, exchanging knockdowns with Avious Griffin in Anaheim, California, and heading to the final round tied on two of the three scorecards.
Rodriguez, nicknamed “Hammer Hands,” left nothing to chance, delivering a furious batch of punches that knocked out Griffin with five seconds remaining in the 10-round bout.
That earned him a new contractual alliance with Zuffa Boxing, but his debut was another red-corner assignment versus the ever-punching, hard-nosed Cain Sandoval, who emerged as can’t-miss entertainment under the former 360 Promotions banner of Zuffa’s Tom Loeffler.
Instead of dispatching Rodriguez to boost his chances at becoming the first welterweight winner of the Zuffa belt, Sandoval fell to 17-1 by the wide scorecards of 99-91, 98-92, 99-91.
“I allowed that pressure to fuel my mindset,” Rodriguez told BoxingScene this week. “I’ve been around this game a long time and knew I had a lot more experience than both of those opponents. I knew I had the edge. I knew I had the better skill set.
“Obviously, Cain brought his pressure – and I know pressure breaks pipes and breaks fighters down – but I knew he didn’t have the skill or intelligence that I did. I just kept reassuring myself who I was. I didn’t focus on the outcome going into the ring – that gets in the way, causes hesitation.
“I focused on my camp, focused on being the best version of myself. Mentally, physically, spiritually. Whatever happens, happens. You’ve seen the results. It’s genuine, and it’s allowed me to put on a great show for the fans and be my best self. I get it all out there. With that mindset, I feel my best and I perform my best.”
The consequences of defeat in either situation could’ve been severe. Rodriguez knows 30-something contenders – he’s only ranked by the WBA at No. 8 – who absorb losses can get shelved, dismissed or worse.
“Sometimes that breaks fighters. Sometimes it elevates them,” Rodriguez said. “I’m one of those who elevates to pressure. Earlier in my career, if I felt I had the superior edge to a fighter, I wouldn’t perform my best versus these [recent situations] of it being a huge step up. It’s like, ‘Oh, yeah? OK, cool.’
“It’s been embedded in me to fight like my life is on the line.”
Rodriguez said his experience in fighting since he was a 7-year-old allows him to identify opponent flaws in scouting rather quickly.
With Griffin, he said he identified “holes” to take advantage of, tuning himself to produce an onslaught of punches without tiring.
Against Sandoval, who had so frequently accepted toe-to-toe warfare as a method to reduce his opponents, Rodriguez focused on his own footwork, smarts and strategy to land the defining blows of the round, keeping Sandoval from finding momentum in his eagerness to make it a firefight.
“If I just let him throw punches whenever he wants, he’ll just gain confidence,” Rodriguez said. “Boxing is really momentum-based. So anything I could do to break his momentum, I did it. I’d move out of the way, let him miss a couple of shots, work on my defense, counter with two shots and hold him.
“He could never get started. Once he started getting desperate, I started to see more of the openings and capitalized on them. He’s very tough, came forward all fight. But I think he only knew how to fight in one way, in one gear. And if you can’t adapt in this game, it’s over.”
Rodriguez sees Sandoval being better served by a move to lightweight.
Rodriguez’s high IQ has allowed him to kick in the door of opportunity in ways that may not have happened while he was shuttling between promotions.
Now, with Zuffa’s Paramount+ exposure allowing him a definite boost from storytelling, he’s in a position to ascend that looked nearly impossible one year ago.
“I am appreciative, because I know how it feels when the lights are out,” Rodriguez said. “What’s most important to me is my personal development as a man. I’m using boxing because it teaches me so many life lessons. This is the best thing I know how to do with my life.
“I’ve used a lot of these ups and downs to teach lessons to my children. I had my son young. He’s a teenager now. I show him the ways of life through this. And it’s been about me proving things to myself. There’s been some times after these [recent] fights, where I’ve thought, ‘Damn, this is crazy.’ I’m glad people are noticing me and I have a big platform. But there’s no time to celebrate.”
Perella, from Massachusetts, is 33, and has piled up club-show victories on the East Coast. He heads to the red corner Sunday, leaving Rodriguez well aware that the position cannot be discounted.
“The bigger the lights, the more I’ll be ready,” Rodriguez said. “I’m definitely ready to win, and I have a lot of bad intentions because of my preparation. Everything is so aligned for me.
“There’s a ton of pressure with every fight. My opponent has two hands, just like me, and I could bring out the best in him as his most experienced opponent. I’m sure he’ll be prepared.
“But he’s going to get the best from Julian Rodriguez Sunday night.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
