A stunned crowd of more than 2,000 people watched David "El Nino" Rodriguez lose to journeyman boxer Raymond Ochieng by getting knocked out in the first round.

Rodriguez was knocked down twice in the first round, although the second time was considered a slip before Ochieng knocked out "El Nino" at the 1:37 mark of the first round.  The crowd at Southwest University Events Center hadn't even sat down before Rodriguez was knocked down in the opening seconds of the first round.

Ocheing who is from Kenya improved to 25-17-3 with the victory, while Rodriguez fell to 36-2 with the loss.  Prior to this loss which was "El Nino's" second consecutive one, Rodriguez had won his first 36 fights.  Clearly Rodriguez has never been the same fighter since his near death experience after being stabbed more than two years ago.

Rodriguez who is now 36 years old took two years off after the stabbing incident and had major knee surgery as well.  The question that so many fans will have about Rodriguez is what could have been.  How great could he have become had he fought better opponents?  Even though the heavyweight division has been down in boxing for years, one would have to ponder how dominant Rodriguez could have been.

The majority of Rodriguez' opponents were hand picked and even out of shape, taking away from his credibility and accomplishment of winning his first 36 bouts.  Winning 36 consecutive fights is a rather difficult feat, but the quality of the opponents that you defeat is certainly relevant.  There is no doubt that Rodriguez' career ended on a  sad note, and in a shocking manner.

"El Nino" will ultimately be remembered as a somewhat entertaining fighter who loved to talk the talk but certainly never truly accomplished what he could have.  As the old expression goes, "could of, would of, should of."  In Rodriguez' case, he could have been great considering his exceptional skills; undoubtedly would have been extraordinary had he lived up to his potential, and should have fought better opponents.

You can see the video below:

 

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