PACQUIAO SPARRING PARTNER IN BIG WIN
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 11 Oct 2008
Likeable David ?Dangerous? Rodela, a former sparring partner of Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao both at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles and at the Rex ?Wakee? Salud Gym in Cebu City has scored the biggest win of his career at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona.
The lightweight from Oxnard , California won an eight round split decision over former world champion, veteran Kevin Kelley.
Two of the three judges had the 26 year old Rodela, a lanky fighter with fast hands the winner by scores of 78-74 and 77-75 while the third judge scored the fight for Kelley by a margin of 78-74.
With the win Rodela who helped Pacquiao prepare for several of his fights including the rematch with Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera when Pacquiao trained much of the time in Cebu , improved to 11-1-3 with 6 knockouts while Kelley, nicknamed ?Flushing Flash? dropped to 60-9-2 with 39 knockouts.
Kelley, a 5?7? southpaw was coming off a ten round unanimous decision over Jaime Palma last July 8. He had fought some of the greats in his prime including Erik ?El Terrible? Morales to whom he lost by a 7th round TKO in a battle for the WBC featherweight interim title on September 2, 2000.
He also lost to Prince Naseem Hamed and more recently on November 11, 2006 lost a majority decision to another ageing fighter, former world champion Manuel ?Mantecas? Medina who lost his title in Tokyo to one of the Philippines greats, two-division world champion Luisito Espinosa.
In the past Rodela has demonstrated a rare and truly commendable dimension to his soft-spoken, concerned nature when he was involved in what was termed a "Fight for the Missing" with similar public-service-oriented individuals.
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FIGHT WITH THE MISSING
Professional boxer David Rodela, 1998 Everlast Women's National Champion Krysti Rosario and the Child Seek Network has teamed up to bring missing loved ones to the ring.
David has had three pro fights, 2 wins (by KO) and 1 draw. He will fight September 10th, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
David, being a public figure and having a young son of his own understands the importance of Child Safety and wants to help locate those whom are missing.
Team Rodela will be wearing jackets bearing the faces of missing brothers Joel and Mario Lopez during his bouts.
The young brothers disappeared March 8th, when they went to a local schoolyard in the 600 block of F Street. They were last seen playing basketball on the schoolyard playground around 5:30 p.m. that afternoon. Two hours later, their foster parents notified law enforcement authorities that the boys were missing.
Livingston Fire and Police Departments, Merced County Sheriff's Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection all searched for the boys with no results.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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