By Ryan Burton

Saul “Neno” Rodriguez (21-0-1) will snap a 21-month layoff when he returns to the ring Saturday night in El Paso, Texas. Across the ring from him will be Claudio Rosendo Tapia (28-18-4) of Argentina.

The bout takes place on the Miguel Berchelt-Mickey Roman undercard and the entire card will be streamed on ESPN+. Former featherweight and super featherweight title challenger Miguel Marriaga faces Jose Estrella in the co-feature bout.

The 25-year-old Rodriguez is back with his original promoter Top Rank and is hoping to make up for lost time. This will be only his second fight in the past two and a half years.

“I’m excited to be finally getting back in the ring. All of the fans can expect to see a new and improved Neno,” said Rodriguez. “I don’t know when my next fight will be but hopefully soon. I want to be really active.”

As for the main event, Rodriguez expects the WBC super featherweight champion to retain his belt. He believes Roman will proved a stiff test he believes Berchelt will come out on top.

Rodriguez also has an eye on that belt. After a couple fights to get back in his rhythm, Rodriguez hopes to fight for the green strap.

“It’s going to be a tough fight for however long it lasts. I think Berchelt wins it though. I eventually want to fight for that green belt,” Rodriguez told krikya360.com.

Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter