Daniel Rodriguez lives in Thailand. He topped the world rankings and is European champion. Now his career has taken its first turn. His life in five rounds.
For Daniel Rodriguez, there is nothing better than fighting: “If I could, I would just fight in the ring all my life and never stop.”
A fight in Thai boxing lasts five rounds of three minutes each if neither of the two is knocked out beforehand. Rodriguez is 25 years old and is one of the best in the world. When he enters the ring, his nature changes. He straightens his shoulders, pushes his chest forward and dances lightly through the ring – his living room. He has never been knocked down.
Outside the ring he is an inconspicuous guy. Introverted, a little shy, down to earth. This is how he behaves at the meeting in the “Dado Gym” in Zurich Altstetten. It all started here eleven years ago.
Round 1: Muay Thai – his passion
Daniel Rodriguez ties his wrist bandages.
Daniel Rodriguez has roots in the Dominican Republic and grew up in the city of Zurich, in district 3. He talks about a beautiful childhood without tragic experiences or strokes of fate. He regularly argues with his big brother and cannot cope with his strict nature. His brother takes advantage of his physical superiority during the scuffles. “That’s what happens between brothers,” says Rodriguez. It took away his fear of being hit early on.
In secondary school, when Rodriguez is 14 years old, many of his friends play soccer. He wants to practice a more complete sport, a sport for the whole body. Rodriguez stops by the “Dado Gym”. He is fascinated by Thai boxing. About the history, the elegance, the power.
Thai boxing or Muay Thai is considered the most efficient martial art because almost anything is allowed: hits with fists, legs, elbows and knees. The sport is practiced barefoot, only thin ankle pads are pulled over the feet.
Jumping rope is an integral part of boxing training. It promotes endurance, muscle building, footwork and coordination.
Muay Thai is the national sport in Thailand and its origins go back several centuries. Respect and virtue are central; the fighters are only allowed to show their skills in the ring, anything else is frowned upon.
His parents’ first reaction: “Why Thai boxing and not football?” But Rodriguez sticks to his decision. He helps around the house, unloads the dishwasher, washes the dirty clothes. After all, his parents pay for the training.
Rodriguez fondly remembers the early days. “I saw the older fighters in the gym and wanted to be like them too.” He does shadow boxing at home every day he doesn’t train. He applies what he is taught. His love for the sport grows bigger every day. Rodriguez says: “I love to beat my opponent and I love to be beaten.”
Round 2: “Dado” – his trainer
Was also a former Thai boxer: Leonardo “Dado” Irmici.
The trainer Leonardo “Dado” Irmici has accompanied Daniel Rodriguez since day one. Rodriguez became more and more ambitious, but Dado remained skeptical: “He has his roots in the Dominican Republic. He is good looking and young. I thought that when he was 16 he would be gone again and would rather party than train hard.”
Dado wasn’t entirely wrong. As a teenager, Rodriguez likes to party, as he says. But he’s back in the ring the next morning. Dado says: “I quickly noticed that the boy had a gift for fighting.”
Rodriguez won his first four fights easily. Dado challenges his student and organizes a fight against a 30-year-old in Bern. Rodriguez is 15 years old at this time. He wins.
At this moment it is clear to Dado: This boy is staying.
Rodriguez hits the paws and trains important combinations.
Those who fight also suffer low blows. Rodriguez is training to become a business maintenance specialist. She doesn’t give him any fun. He wants to stop his training several times. But Dado prevents it. He wants Rodriguez to fight.
Rodriguez listens to his coach. However, he is rarely in the ring during this time. He has suffered from hip impingement – colloquially known as hip locking – since birth. Because the joints don’t fit exactly right, the hip is blocked during certain movements, such as kicking. Rodriguez undergoes two surgeries while teaching. He only fought two fights during this time and he never thought about quitting for a moment. He has a big goal, he wants to go to Thailand.
Round 3: Rajadamnern Stadium – his second home
A place of pilgrimage for Muay Thai fans: The Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok.
Amphol Thongmueangluang / Imago
What football is to Germans, Muay Thai is to Thais. Muay Thai flickers across the screens in every bar, punching bags hang on every public sports field, even small children train spectacular punch and kick combinations.
For Daniel Rodriguez it is clear: he can only get better in the home country of Muay Thai. He lacks training partners in Switzerland. In Thailand he can train or go jogging with other fighters at any time of the day.
Dado knows some trainers in Thailand from his active time as a Thai boxer and sent Rodriguez to a traditional camp in 2016 after his apprenticeship. Rodriguez trains there and lives in a small village. He must prove himself to the Thai fighters and earn their respect. He achieved this in 2019 in the temple of Thai boxing.
The Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok is considered the oldest Thai boxing arena in the country and is comparable in importance to Wembley Stadium in football. There is hardly a greater honor for a fighter than to step into the ring here.
There is space for 3,000 spectators in the narrow arena. It’s hot and humid, and the fighters are led into the ring like gladiators. Rodriguez will enter the holy ring three times in 2019. He won three times by knockout. It is the highlight of his career so far.
Rodriguez returns to Switzerland. He cannot make a living from his sport. And he hasn’t won any titles yet. But Rodriguez has luck on his side. He says this again and again: “Subconsciously, I have always made the right decisions. And was there at the right moment.”
In 2021, Rodriguez will win the World Boxing Council (WBC) European title in the super welterweight category – up to 70 kilograms. Things have come full circle for him; he has been out of competition in Europe for a long time. Rodriguez will fly back to Thailand in 2022 after the end of the corona pandemic. Back to his second home: the Rajadamnern Stadium. On June 1, 2022, he defeated one of the strongest Thai boxers in the country in his first title fight and became the third European to secure the Rajadamnern Stadium super welterweight title.
That same evening, Dado and Rodriguez receive an important call.
Round 4: “The Chosen One” – his unwanted nickname
“I love to beat my opponent and I love to be beaten,” says Daniel Rodriguez in an interview.
The Thai media company Plan B is organizing a Muay Thai tournament with the best fighters in the country under the name Rajadamnern World Series (RWS). The winner receives 1 million baht, 25,000 francs. One of the fighters is said to be Daniel Rodriguez. It’s clear to him: “I have to take part. I want to win the tournament and finish them all off.”
In the first fight he was still nervous, says Rodriguez. After all, the whole of Thailand was watching. But he wins and realizes: “I’m at home in the Rajadamnern Stadium, I’m unbeatable here.”
He defeated Thai superstar Yodwicha Porboonsit twice. The two victories make Daniel Rodriguez number 1 in the WBC world rankings and champion of the RWS.
European champion, RWS winner and Rajadamner Stadium title: Rodriguez has already won three belts in his short career.
For the first time in his career, Rodriguez can make a living from sports. Before that, he fought almost for free for eight years. He has no sponsors.
The Thais have called him “The Chosen One” since he won the tournament. Rodriguez is uncomfortable being asked about it. He doesn’t see himself as “the chosen one”, he simply wants to be the best in his weight class. “Like Michael Jordan in basketball.”
But the Thais aren’t wrong with his nickname. The balance at the time of the tournament victory: 38 fights, 38 wins, 0 defeats.
Round 5: Zurich – his safe corner
The ring is his home: Daniel Rodriguez trains in the “Dado Gym” in Zurich Altstetten.
After winning the tournament, Rodriguez became more and more famous in Thailand. People recognize him on the street in Bangkok and want an autograph or a photo. Rodriguez lives a different life in Thailand than in Switzerland. In his hometown, Zurich, no one recognizes him when he goes shopping. But Zurich has another important role in his life.
Rodriguez loses his first fight in 2023. After three wins in the group phase of the RWS tournament, he had to admit defeat to his biggest competitor in the semi-finals and lost on points. “The aftertaste of losing is pretty bitter,” says Rodriguez. He didn’t know the feeling.
Rodriguez fought another fight after the defeat. He wins, but this low blow continues to gnaw at him.
Rodriguez has been in Switzerland since the beginning of January. He has been in severe pain for a year. He will undergo successful surgery on his right hand in Zurich in mid-January. It was a complicated operation, but he felt safe in Zurich. In the ring, every fighter has their own corner where they are looked after during the break between rounds – it is their own personal protective space. Zurich occupies this place in Daniel Rodriguez’s life. This is where his friends, his family, his gym are.
Proud of her student: Numerous pictures of Daniel Rodriguez adorn the wall in the “Dado Gym”.
Rodriguez expects to fight again in Thailand in three months. His goal: winning the RWS tournament in October. The organizers have significantly increased the prize money. It’s about 5 million baht – 125,000 francs. His fee, also 5 million baht, is on top of that. But for Rodriguez, it’s about more than money. He wants to be the best in the country and “clean up” the tournament. Round after round, opponent after opponent.