Junior middleweight Nisa “Sweet-Destruction” Rodriguez (4-0, 2 KOs) will be fighting this Saturday night on a pro-am card, launching “The Riverhead Fight Series" at Suffolk Theater in Riverhead (Long Island), New York. A fulltime New York police officer, Rodriguez’ 15 year-old son, Emerson, is slated to box on the same card, and they are believed to be the first professional boxer mother and amateur boxing son to fight on the same event in U.S. boxing. “We’re both excited to be fighting on the same show,” Nisa said. “He’s always been there, walking me out to fights, at the gym and when I won my first National Golden Gloves title. When I was a single parent, I had to take him with me. Now, he’s 15 with a 10-2 amateur record. He’s 6’ 1”, 145-pounds…like Tommy Hearns, who is his favorite fighter."
Nisa continued, “I think fighting together is kind of dope. I want him to finish school and he’s an honor student. We’ll see what happens. As much as he wants to fight, it’s a big gamble being a fighter., He understands; he saw me beat up in the hospital. It takes a lot of dedication. I’ve seen a lot of father-son relationships in boxing cause problems, so we don’t talk about boxing when we’re in our house.”
The first installment of this new boxing series is being presented by Boxing Insider Promotions, in association with Hill Street Boxing, and will be streamed live from Suffolk Theater, hosting its first boxing event since it opened in 1912, on www.boxinginsider.com.
Rodriguez, who will be fighting as a pro for the first at her natural boxing weight class, faces German junior middleweight Deborah Melhorn, who will be making her pro boxing debut, albeit she’s fought professionally in bare knuckles and kickboxing.
The main event is a scheduled eight round junior welterweight bout between local favorite Terell Bostic (15-2, 2 KOs) and Francisco Javier Grande (7-4-2), of Mexico. Also Virginia junior welterweight Ameil Barbour (2-1, 1 KO) faces Enock Melson (0-1), of Maryland in a four rounder. There will be three pro fights and between 8-10 amateur matches. Card subject to change.
Rodriguez is an eight-time New York Daily News Golden Gloves, six-time Metro Championships, two-time Empire State, and Caribbean and Central Americano gold medalist. A former schoolteacher, Rodriguez has been a NYC police officer for two years, stationed citywide for the rapid response unit, specializing in any crimes that involve adolescents and supporting families of homicides. In addition to being a fulltime police officer and pro boxer, if that were not enough, Nisa works with youths in a program at Cops & Kids Gym in Brooklyn, and she’s married with three children.
“It will be exciting to see Nisa and her son warming up in the locker room knowing they’ll be sharing the card together,” Nisa’s manager Keith Sullivan remarked. “It is really something special and a lifelong memory for them to share on this historic occasion. I just hope they both win, otherwise the bragging rights at home could be brutal!”
“Nisa is a true pro and a very nice person,” Hill Street Boxing spokesperson Marty Hopwood commented. “The first boxing event at The Suffolk in its 113-year history provides an historic element that’s important to boxing.”
Hopwood, a lawyer, has been involved in boxing since he attended Boston College. He trained to stay in shape with the famed Archer brothers, Joey and Jimmy, at the New York Athletic Club. Hopwood returned to the gym eight years ago to get into boxing shape. Two years ago, he fought as an amateur for the first time, fighting seven times in the last 14 months in the Senior Division, and he’s still throwing leather at the age of 74.
Tickets are available to purchase online at https://thesuffolk.org/event/riverhead-fight-series-1/, as well as fight night at the door. The amateur portion of the event starts at 7 pm ET, followed by the three pro fights.
