New Breed
Another Filipino boxing super lightweight prospect to watch this 2024 and he is already in the Big Apple as of press time. Jino “The Silent Beast” Rodrigo (12-3-2) is going to meet Elvis Rodriguez (15-1) of the Dominican Republic in Miami, Florida, according to his compadre and benefactor Matt Dovin. This is the very first time for Rodrigo who hails from Antipolo and is a protegee under Jaro Boxing Stable in Binagonan, Rizal.
Dovin, a boxing fan and patron based in Chicago said that it’s The Silent Beast’s first time in the US and being trained by Aljoe Jaro who himself is also a pugilist. “Jino is very excited to fight in the States. That was his big dream. The people who put this together are very excited for his upcoming fight,” Dovin further says in our recent chat. Apparently according to Dovin, the two, Rodrigo and Rodriguez will lock horns this coming June 29, 2024.
Cyberfriends
Dovin and Rodrigo were not able to see each other in bones and flesh. They only see and converse through social media. Matt, a Catholic, stood as ninong (godfather) to Jino’s child, a son named John Lucas, with his wife Ynah Ferrer.
The two do not only share things about the sweet science’s kind of stuffs. They also share their hands of faith for they belong to the same congregation or church. They are both Catholics. The compadres are into outreach activities for the kids in Antipolo including Biñan, in the nearby province of Laguna. They are giving away shoes, slippers, and boxing apparel for the budding, young boxers in those places. They even did a feeding activity for schoolchildren. They see this not as a dole out but to encourage budding young ring Pinoy warriors and hopefuls.
Jino treated Matt not only as friend. The boxer confirmed, “Parang pamilya na ang turing namin sa kanya (Matt). Magkaibigan na kami noong pang 2018 at nag-uusap na kami sa Messenger parati.” (We treat him [Matt] like family. We've been friends since 2018 and we've been talking on Messenger all the time).
Jino is as excited as climbing up the ring in a much bigger arena and seeing his long-time friend from Chicago.
“Silent Beast”
Rodrigo, 26, is a soft-spoken man and he lets his fist do the talking atop the ring. His most impressive fight was with the Indonesian journeyman Alvius Maufani held September 2023 where he downed his opponent four times, twice in Round 1, twice in Round 2, and once in Round 3, and won via TKO.
Rodrigo’s patented and most brutal punch is the left hook and on this particular night, the silent beast loudly proclaimed, “I’m improved!” It echoed like the roar of a lion, the jungle’s king of beasts.
A thing that every Filipino boxing fan and a silent donor has to see and expect when he meets Rodriguez next week in Miami. When asked what would he be carrying in facing the Dominican, Jino states, “My power and my determination”.
