ORLANDO – The world will get to know Rodolfo Orozco, one way or another, after this weekend.
The obscure junior middleweight received an instant profile boost when he was tabbed as the opponent of choice for Conor Benn’s ring return. Most of the attention has been afforded the unbeaten Brit, who has been embroiled in an ongoing drug testing scandal which has caused in large part his seventeen-month ring absence.
Little regard has been given to the fringe contender who will man the other corner in their DAZN co-feature this Saturday at Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida. It’s not lost on the 24-year-old Mexican from Guasave, Sinaloa, who gets to make his U.S. debut.
“We’ve been ready for this kind of fight, but the chance just never came our way,” Orozco told BoxingScene.com. “We’ve had a few opportunities fall through but we’ve stayed ready to get a call like this. We always come to win and we are here to beat Conor Benn, not just be a part of the story.”
It’s a tall order for Orozco (32-3-3, 24KOs), who has only fought at the club level for most of his career.
The fight takes place at junior middleweight, where both boxers came in at career-heaviest weights. Orozco has only recently fought at welterweight and versus middling competition. There is reason that England’s Benn (21-0, 14KOs) is listed by some sportsbooks as a -3000 betting favorite, and Orozco as much as a +1200 underdog in his first rue
Still, Orozco—who has never been stopped—is confident of extending his current two-fight win streak.
“Of course, it’s a huge opportunity for me,” admitted Orozco, who last fought in a fourth-round knockout win on June 2 in Mexico City. “I am making my debut in the U,.s and we are coming to win.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox