Welterweight Corey Rodriguez will be fighting in his home state for the first time as a professional this Saturday night when Seconds Out Promotions brings a Boxing/MMA fight card to the Myth Nightclub in Maplewood, MN.
Rodriguez, who is currently 2-0 as a pro will face rugged brawler Cheyenne Zeigler. Rodriquez discussed his two prior fights and what he expects this Saturday.

I would like to talk about your first two pro fights. Let's start with your first fight against John Hoffman.
First off all we got called on short notice. They called and said we were being matched with John Hoffman which was fine because he has a lot of experience. We knew he hadn't been very active though so we came up with a big game plan. We figured we would go in and box.

I believe the fight ended with body shots?
Yeah that was our plan. We worked on a lot of body shots in the gym. In the fight, I was trying to land the open head shots. I landed a few of them but noticed the body was wide open when he covered up his head. I had to take advantage of that, which I did.

Next you faced Mike Davis in November...
Mike Davis was a little bit taller. I think he is pretty close to six feet tall. He is also a southpaw so he was a little awkward. He switched things up a lot, back and forth. We just took our time, a little more so in this fight. It was the same thing though, I landed some good headshots and he started to cover up. I got him in the corner and he continued to hold his gloves up high. I went to the body and took him out.

I know it is important for you to fight in front of your hometown. You get that chance this Saturday. Talk about that.
Oh yeah, it's huge. It's what I have wanted to do since day one. I feel like we haven't had the opportunity yet though. I've gotten phone calls but things were at the last minute. It seems like we are not good enough in the beginning but then it comes down to the last couple days and I get the call and suddenly we are good enough. I just want to prove that I am worthy. I work hard and train hard. I got back into the amateur program after eight years off. I worked my way through the last couple years and we are here now. I have prepared hard to get to this level so I am ready.

Your opponent is Cheyenne Zeigler. He is a tough guy who went four hard rounds with Tim Taggart in Hinckley a few months back. Talk about Zeigler and what you expect from him on Saturday.
Yeah, I am expecting a tough guy. He's rugged, he's durable and comes forward a lot. I have seen him fight and believe I can capitalize on a lot of things he does. I don't want to talk about our plans but I definitely know he is tough and will try to hang in there.

Anything you want to add?
I just want to say to anybody that has been against or for me to come on out and see a good show. I have been working really hard for this for quite some time and hopefully this opens new avenues for us. I plan on opening some eyes that really didn't want to pay attention to us in the beginning.

Doors for the event will open at 5:00pm and the first bout will now begin at 6:00pm.
Tickets for “Evolution” are priced at $45 Ringside, $35 Reserved Seating, $25 General Admission (plus any additional box office or service fees). Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 651.989.5151.
For more information, go to www.soboxing.com.