Wendy Rodriguez was born and raised in South
Central Los Angeles, majored in Child Development at Cal. State L.A. and
plans to become a teacher. Before she began boxing, she participated in
Cross Country/Field and Dance at Roosevelt High School.
Wendy Rodriguez fought professionally from 1999 to 2008, accumulating
multiple world titles with the IBA, WIBF, IFBA, NABA as a junior
flyweight, with a 19-4-3 (3KO) record. When she was actively boxing in
the sport she was trained by Victor Hernandez at the L.A. Boxing Gym in
Los Angeles, California. Wendy’s boxing skills and smooth moves in the
ring more than compensate for her small size at just 4'11", and she
proved to be a tricky and frustrating opponent for the best in the world
at her weight. Before boxing professionally she had six amateur bouts.
Wendy made her pro debut on May 14, 1999 at the Pechanga Center in
Temecula, California, taking a clear four-round unanimous decision over
Lisa Butler of Leonard, Texas. She continued to fight many of the top
female boxers in the sport that included Carina Moreno, Hollie Dunaway,
Regina Halmich, Yvonne Caples, Margaret Sidoroff, and many more.
WBAN covered her fight on June 13, 2008 at the Isleta Casino and Resort
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when she won a close bout by a ten-round
split decision over Hollie Dunaway. The two were fighting for the (104
lbs) vacant IFBA and IBA strawweight world titles.
Wendy told WBAN at the time when actively boxing, "It was always a guy
thing for me, and that was because I had never seen women boxing. When I
first got involved with boxing, I wanted a self defense class, and I
wanted to lose weight. As time went by, I began to like its technique.
It was something different for me...now I see boxing in a whole new
way."
In 2005, Victor Hernandez, Wendy's trainer
wrote to WBAN an open letter saying the following: "Wendy Rodriguez is
thinking about retiring due to the lack of fights. It's a shame that LA
promoters would prefer to put these no talent models who call themselves
fighters. It's a shame that Wendy has worked so hard and not get the
respect and recognition for her talents as a true champion. It is a
shame that these models get paid all these dollars while their skills
make no sense. Too bad we don't get the support from our hometown
because Wendy is willing to fight every champion or top contender in her
weight class--But never received any offer from any promoter to fight
these fights."
Wendy, a part of history who helped pave the way for others was an
exciting fighter, who gave it her all in the ring. She did not get those
opportunities that some of the top female boxers are getting today, but
even not having those opportunities, she excelled as one of the top
female boxers in the world when she was active in the ring.
