(NOV 25) NEW YORK CITY – Little did New York City middleweight Nisa Rodriguez (2-0) know when she booked a European vacation for her family that it would be one week prior to her return to the ring.

Rated No. 9 by the World Boxing Council (WBC), promotional free agent Rodriguez will fight in her first scheduled six-round match against Melody Popravak (2-1-1, 1 KO) on Tuesday, December 17, at Sony Hall in Times Square, on a show presented by Boxing Insider Promotions.

It’s been difficult for Rodriguez’ manager, NYC-based lawyer Keith Sullivan, to secure opponents for Nisa, largely because of her rich amateur pedigree, as well as her weight class limitations in terms of quality opponents. In fact, she had to fight at super middleweight in her two pro fights to date, although she will take on middleweight Popravak next month, in her natural weight class.

Nisa is also an eight-time New York Daily News Golden Gloves, six-time Metro Championships, two-time Empire State, and Caribbean and Central Americano gold medalist. A former schoolteacher, Rodriguez has been a NYC police officer for two years, stationed citywide for the rapid response unit, specializing in any crimes that involve adolescents and supporting families of homicides. In addition to being a fulltime police officer and pro boxer, if that were not enough, Nisa works with youths in a program at Cops & Kids Gym in Brooklyn, and she’s married with three children.

Because of the aforementioned difficulties finding time to book a family vacation and figuring she wouldn’t fight again in 2024; Nisa booked a trip to Europe only to shortly find-out that she had an offer to fight at home on Dec. 17. Rather than cancel her vacation and attempt to find another time she and her family could go away together, they’re all heading overseas and just like she does in the ring, Nisa will properly adjust to the situation.

“I was hoping to fight again this year,” she explained, “and I kept pushing our vacation off. I had nothing (fights) in December and my birthday will be while we’re away. We’re a humble family, saved up, and we are still going to Europe. So, I’ll get in my roadwork in Paris, and my husband (Wilson Hernandez) and son (Emerson Pina) will be my technical sparring partners. My husband fights in the Master’s Division and we’re about the same weight. My son is a good amateur boxer, only 15, but he’s strong, 6’ 1” and 145 pounds. I’m not his coach, though. We have a parent-child dynamic, and unless he asks for boxing advice from me, I don’t offer any.

“From being a member of the Puerto Rico Team in the amateurs, I know some fighters over there (in Europe), and I will have gyms to train at and spar in. Most of the week we’ll be in Paris, but we’re going to try and go to Rome, too. I really want to see The Colosseum because boxers are like modern-day gladiators.”

Her manager Keith Sullivan added: “I was prepared to take her out of the fight, but she said, ‘No, I’ll stay in shape. We’re a boxing family; my son and husband will spar, work the mitts and help keep my conditioning on point.’ “Nisa excels at everything she does, so I backed down and contracted to go forward with the fight. I would never agree to this for any fighter not named Nisa Rodriguez.”

Rodriguez is happy to finally be fighting as a middleweight and unconcerned about the two additional rounds for her first scheduled six-round bout.

“I feel that the time fighting as an elite amateur prepared me because we fought four 2-minute rounds, the same in the pros, but I always trained hard and felt I could have fought longer,” Rodriguez noted. “Two-minute rounds go really fast. I like to counterpunch and move around the ring, but now I can sit down more to punch because of the two extra rounds from what I’ve been accustomed to. I’m happy to be fighting as a middleweight, but I always try to come in light anyway.”
 

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