Back to Business: Junior Welterweight Contender Elvis Rodriguez Signs Promotional Pact with Top Rank

Junior welterweight contender Elvis Rodriguez has signed a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank, the company that guided him as a rising prospect from 2019 to 2021. Rodriguez makes his second Top Rank debut in a 10-rounder on Saturday, June 29, on the Teofimo Lopez-Steve Claggett undercard at James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.

“Elvis Rodriguez is a supreme talent, and we are thrilled that he’s decided to re-join the Top Rank family,” said Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum. “There are many great fights for Elvis at 140 pounds, and if he fights up to his potential, he will be a world champion one day.”

“It truly feels great to be back home. I have always felt like a Top Rank fighter,” Rodriguez said. “Top Rank made me a star, and they will make me a champion. I am looking forward to June 29. Elvis will finally be back in the building! It’s been a long layoff, the longest of my career, but I am 100 percent focused on June 29.”

“We are very excited and happy to be back with Top Rank. Elvis is such an exciting fighter, and he brings much-needed excitement to the sport,” said Benny Lieblein, Rodriguez’s manager. “We are looking for an opportunity at the top guys in the division, and we believe Top Rank can get us those fights. All these guys have been choosing the path of least resistance. With Top Rank keeping him active and using their promotional power, they won’t be able to avoid us much longer.”

Rodriguez (15-1-1, 13 KOs), trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, emerged as one of the sport’s top prospects while fighting inside the Top Rank Las Vegas Bubble. From July 2020 to February 2021, he went 5-0 with four knockouts, demonstrating crushing power from the southpaw stance. His momentum temporarily stalled after being upset by Kenneth Sims Jr. in May 2021. Since his Top Rank departure, Rodriguez has gone 4-0, including a February 2023 decision verdict over Joseph Adorno. He made a serious statement that July, stopping former world champion Viktor Postol in seven rounds.