Chicago boxer dies in first title fight

[The Straight Story]

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A bantamweight boxer from Chicago died of injuries sustained during his first professional championship fight.

Francisco Rodriguez, 25, who used the nickname "El Nino Azteca," collapsed after a referee in Philadelphia ended his fight Friday with Teon Kennedy, the Chicago Tribune reported. His family decided Sunday to remove him from life support.

George Hernandez, a Chicago boxing trainer, had worked with Rodriguez since he was a child. Hernandez was in Rodriguez's corner during the USBA super bantamweight title fight with Kennedy.

"More than money, more than anything, he wanted to be a world champion," Hernandez said. "I am proud that, in his last fight, he performed like the warrior that he is."

Rodriguez won a national Golden Gloves title when he was 17 and tried out for the 2004 Olympic team. A spokeswoman for the family said his father, Evaristo Rodriguez, was a professional boxer in Mexico and a brother, Evaristo Jr., had also been a Golden Gloves champion.

http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2009/11/24/Chicago-boxer-dies-in-first-title-fight/UPI-62881259092260/