Frank Latina

I have recently been covering a local Connecticut fighter by the name of Frank 'El Soldato' Latina for his upcoming fight versus John Franchi in the International Fight League.

Latina is a guy that I met eight years ago at WOW Fitness in Middletown, Conn.

Frank and I later worked together at a residential program for at-risk youth in Cromwell, Conn.

He trains with Team Dog Pound Full Contact in Southington, Conn under his coach Elias Rivera.

Latina has also had some training sessions in Las Vegas with Xtreme Couture and former professional boxer John Scully in at LA Boxing in Glastonbury, Conn.

Some of Latina's favorite fighters are Randy Couture and Wanderlei Silva.

Latina will be fighting in the IFL event on May 16th at the Mohegan Sun.

His opponent, John Franchi fights out of Cortland, NY for Team Bomb Squad. Franchi is a dangerous opponent knocking out two out of his three opponents since he turned professional.

He has a background in wrestling, kickboxing, Jui Jitsu and boxing. Franchi's favorite fighter is BJ Penn.

For the story I wrote for insidectsports.com, I contacted Tamdan McRory a former member of Team Bomb Squad who now fights in the UFC. Tamdan reported to me that his UFC contract had been extended and he will be fighting later this summer. He could not name his opponent but he said to keep an eye out for it.

McRory said that he is friend of Franchi and the two used to train together.

"He has good stand up, he is an excellent wrester and he is slick off his back," McRory said. "He is a pretty well round fighter you know. He is not going to be a pushover for anybody that is for sure.”

A myspace video I found about Frank:

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=33082190