ON HIS FIRST TRIP to Philadelphia, Francisco Rodriguez did what a lot of tourists do: He headed to the Art Museum for a photo at the Rocky statue. What else would you expect of a professional boxer who, a few days later, would be fighting for a minor title at the Blue Horizon?
"He was happy. He said, 'When I get back to Chicago, I'm going to tell everybody, 'I saw the Rocky statue!' " recalled Benny Baez, a Philly resident and former fighter who had been hired as a temporary addition to Rodriguez' corner team.
The 25-year-old Rodriguez, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, known as "Paco" to friends and family, will never get to share that experience. Rodriguez was removed from life support at around 8:30 last night, according to his older brother and manager, Alex.
Rodriguez was injured during a 10th-round knockout loss to North Philly's Teon Kennedy on Friday night in a matchup for the vacant USBA super bantamweight championship.
A minute or so after Rodriguez (14-3-1, 8 KOs) was helped onto his stool following the stoppage in the scheduled 12-round bout, his body went limp and his breathing became labored. Ring physicians and EMS personnel frantically administered to him before he was removed from the ring on a stretcher and transported to Hahnemann University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure for a brain bleed.
