On July 15 at the Roseland Ballroom, 154-pound contender Pawel Wolak faces former top welterweight contender Delvin Rodriguez in a pivotal 10-rounder. We had heard about the hard-nosed Wolak for a few years, but he really zoomed into the public’s eye with a dominant TKO of Yuri Foreman in March. Rodriguez is trying to revive a sagging career that once carried some promise.
One man (Wolak) is trying to further his case as a player in the resurgent junior middleweight division, while another (Rodriguez) is merely attempting to create something positive in a career that has lacked recent highlights. Wolak will be the heavy favorite, but the conditions should actually be ripe for a good encounter.
- Date: July 15, 2011
- Site: Roseland Ballroom in NYC, New York
- Weight Class: Junior Middleweights: 10 Rounds
Vital Stats
Wolak: The Polish-born contender is 29 years old and stands 5’8” with a 68-inch reach—average to slightly below-average physical stature for a 154-pounder. Two-time N.Y Golden Gloves finalist and has been a professional now for 7 years, his record an impressive 29-1 (19 KOs). His only setback was just under 3 years and 9 fights ago—a close decision loss to Ishe Smith.
Rodriguez: Delvin is a 31-year-old veteran who has been a pro since 1999. He has good size on a well-put-together 6-foot frame. However this will be his first fight at 154, having fought at 147 for nearly the past decade. Rodriguez is 25-5-2 (14 KOs). The Dominican-born Rodriguez now calls Danbury, Connecticut home. Rodriguez is in a bit of a slump, having dropped 3 of his last 4 fights.
Style
Wolak: With the very imagistic, if not entirely original, nickname of “The Raging Bull”,” you can pretty much imagine that Wolak is not a safety-first stylist. Wolak makes for exciting fights with his unbridled aggression, in addition to the fact that he’s pretty easy to hit. While his defensive liabilities might hurt him down the road, he has managed to show a reliable chin and the requisite toughness to make it all work.
Rodriguez: Delvin is more of a stylish sort, but not totally averse to inside action. When at his best, he is a crisp combination puncher and a classy boxer. Has a good jab when he uses it and good legs to get out of danger and control the distance. Against Wolak, he will need to get it done from the outside.
Recent Form
Wolak: In his last 6, he has beaten failed Contender alum Vinroy Barrett, Carlos Nascimento, and Ishmail Arvin with relative ease. His win over James Moore in June ’10 was close, as Wolak won on one card 96-94. He was also dropped in his December bout against decent Jose Pinzon, before winning by 7th-round TKO. He was brilliant against former titleholder Foreman, winning every round before Yuri folded after 6.
Rodriguez: In his last 6, he has won only twice—against Shamone Alvarez and Mike Arnaoutis. He was unsuccessful in a pair of fights against Isaac Hlatshwayo, the latter bout being for the IBF title. He lost a decision to the tough Rafal Jackiewicz in 2009. His last fight was over a year ago—a decision loss to British contender Ashley Theophane.
Questions and Issues
Wolak: Will he deal well with a big 4-inch height disadvantage? Will Delvin’s style present additional problems for Wolak that he didn’t encounter against Foreman? Did he catch Foreman at the right time or is he truly coming into his own at 29? Does his loss to Ishe Smith foreshadow problems against a similar sort in Rodriguez?
Rodriguez: Will his vigor be renewed now that he’s facing a clear-cut must-win situation? Can he handle the additional power of heavier guys or will he not be robust enough to make a go of it at 154? Can he still bring it or have recent setbacks and the lingering melancholy over the Oscar Diaz fight depleted him of his zest for the game?
Wolak vs. Rodriguez Prediction
Wolak’s victory over Foreman threw the slugging Pole into a new light. He’s on everyone’s radar now by virtue of that win. But it might be that very win that leads to a somewhat-diminished performance in this fight. First, there’s the unwritten rule that a fighter who is really impressive in one fight will be less so in his next one. And then there might be the natural mental letdown of winning as an underdog on a big PPV card to fighting as a heavy favorite, probably on ESPN. After all, fighters like Wolak are heavily reliant on having that certain “edge” to be at the top of their game. Without it, you can get a flat performance from time to time.
But why would Wolak start slacking now? It’s been a hard road to get where he is and there is no reason to suspect he will become flippant about his newly acquired status. Rodriguez at his best is a good boxer—hard-nosed and elegant with a good handle of what’s going on in the ring. But he appears to have lost the “edge.” To his credit, each of his last 3 losses were painfully close fights. So technically, it wouldn’t require a 180-degree turn for him to get on the right track.
The feeling here is that Rodriguez has become a little too comfortable with the idea of doing just enough to lose. In close fights against good fighters, he just has a knack of not getting over the hump. Even the fights he wins become closer fights than they need to be. Against a bruising sort like Wolak, this will catch up to him. Look for Wolak to come on late after a slow start to win about 7 rounds for a clear unanimous decision.
Prediction: Pawel Wolak wins by unanimous decision.
