Nisa Rodriguez Balances Boxing and NYPD Work
Nisa Rodriguez’s story combines a professional boxing career with public service. A New York Police Department officer and former amateur standout, she has also balanced training with family life. In the ring, she has moved from a promising 2024 debut to an intercontinental title win, with one professional defeat along the way. ABC7 New York profiled her NYPD work and professional debut, and BoxingScene covered her boxing, family, and police responsibilities.
From amateur honors to the pros
Rodriguez, who fights out of New York, built a strong amateur record before turning professional in March 2024. Published profiles credit her with three National Golden Gloves titles. Her debut came at Madison Square Garden, and she followed it with decision wins over Jozette Cotton and Jordanne Garcia. In December 2024, she earned her first professional stoppage, stopping Melody Popravak in the second round. BoxingScene documented her amateur honors, and the WBA record lists her early professional bouts.
A setback, then a title-winning knockout
Rodriguez suffered her first professional loss on April 26, 2025, when Deborah Melhorn won a six-round majority decision. Rodriguez returned that September in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and knocked out Yaritza Valera Bautista 28 seconds into the first round. The win earned Rodriguez the National Boxing Association’s Female Intercontinental middleweight title. The Riverhead event record confirms the Melhorn result; the National Boxing Association reported the Bautista knockout and title win.
The World Boxing Association’s current profile lists Rodriguez at 4–1, with two knockouts, records the Bautista bout as her most recent professional fight, and includes her among its super middleweight rankings. Those listings make her title run a clearer measure of progress than the preview’s general prediction that she was “chasing titles.”
Service outside the ring
Rodriguez’s public profile has also emphasized her work as an NYPD officer and her commitment to young people. Coverage of her career describes her as a mother of three who has managed boxing alongside police work and family responsibilities. That context helps explain why her story resonated before her first bout: she was pursuing a demanding sport while holding responsibilities beyond it. BoxingScene’s profile covers those responsibilities.
As of October 14, 2026, the WBA profile lists no completed bout for Rodriguez after her September 2025 knockout. Her professional record stands at 4–1, and the intercontinental championship remains the defining result of her career to date. The next step will be whether she returns to the ring and turns that win into a longer title campaign. The WBA profile shows the latest recorded bout.
Sources
Tags: Boxing, Combat Sports
