Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez Claims WBO’s Vacant Flyweight Title Despite Jaw Injury vs. Cristian Gonzalez

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has secured a new division title…

The 23-year-old Mexican American boxer, who moved down to flyweight, secured the WBO‘s vacant 112-pound championship with a unanimous-decision win over Cristian Gonzalez (118-110, 117-111, 116-112) at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio.

But when Rodriguez spoke in his post-fight interview, it was immediately clear that not all went right for the promising boxer in another hometown victory. Rodriguez said he battled through a broken jaw against a very feisty opponent to add to his growing list of accolades.

Rodriguez became a two-division world champion, following up a year in which he won the WBC‘s junior bantamweight title. But despite the feat, he said he wasn’t pleased with his showing.

“It wasn’t the best performance,” Rodriguez said in a brief postfight interview with DAZN. “I’ will admit that.”

Rodriguez (18-0, 11 KOs) was bleeding from his mouth by the end of the fight and said he could barely speak after he suffered the injury against Gonzalez (15-2, 5 KOs), who was a heavy underdog entering the fight.

“I guess I got caught with my mouth open,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the injury likely occurred sometime around the sixth round. It came during a stretch when Rodriguez was controlling the action in the ring, peppering Gonzalez with a barrage of body shots that opened up power punches to the head.

But as the fight continued, Gonzalez regained some of the form he showed early in the fight, sticking Rodriguez with straight punches from the outside while he constantly moved around the ring.

Rodriguez’s injury complicated what was expected to be a showcase performance for someone who had knockout wins over Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2022, with both of those performances coming in San Antonio.

It also makes things a bit tricky for Rodriguez’s long-term outlook.

Saturday night marked his first fight in the flyweight division. Before the fight, Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn pointed out that with a Rodriguez victory, three of the four champions in the 112-pound weight class would be promoted by Matchroom. And with the matchmaking relatively simple, Hearn was eyeing a potential undisputed championship fight.

“We want to wrap up these belts with one champion,” Hearn told DAZN.

Hearn said he wanted Rodriguez to face Sunny Edwards, the IBF champion based out of London. Rodriguez confirmed those plans after his win against Gonzalez.

“That’s the only option,” Rodriguez said.

However, that option might have to wait. After Saturday’s fight, Hearn told DAZN that with Rodriguez’s broken jaw and the recovery timeline, Edwards might need an interim bout before a potential showdown with the newest flyweight champion.

“It’s just about timing now,” Hearn said. “Obviously, with that injury, if that jaw is broken, that’s going to keep him out probably the back end of the year. Sunny needs to fight.”

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez to Fight Cristian Gonzalez for Vacant WBO Flyweight Title

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez will be battling for another belt…

The 22-year-old Mexican American boxer will meet Cristian Gonzalez for the WBO‘s vacant flyweight title on April 8 in San Antonio, according to ESPN.

Rodriguez is ESPN’s No. 3 boxer at 115 pounds but revealed plans to move down one weight class following his September victory over Israel Gonzalez.

At 112 pounds, Rodriguez will chase his first full-fledged world title. He was the WBC titleholder at 115 pounds after Juan Francisco Estrada, the organization’s longtime champion, was bestowed franchise champion status.

Now, Rodriguez (17-0, 11 KOs) will set up shop in a familiar weight class when he takes on Gonzalez, who has lost only once but has never competed outside his native Mexico.

Rodriguez, who is from San Antonio, broke out last year in a big way. He began his 2022 campaign with a decision victory over former champion Carlos Cuadras in February.

He followed up with an even more impressive victory, an eight-round TKO of longtime former champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Rungvisai owns wins over future Hall of Famers Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Estrada, and Rodriguez was able to pick him apart in a star-making performance.

After that victory, Rodriguez signed a long-term extension with promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and returned with a decision win over Israel Gonzalez on the Canelo Alvarez–Gennadiy Golovkin 3 undercard.

Hearn hoped to match Rodriguez with Estrada and perhaps Chocolatito in 2023, but those plans are on hold for now while he campaigns at 112 pounds. (Rodriguez’s brother, Joshua Franco, retained his 115-pound title following a draw with Kazuto Ioka on December 31.)

The 23-year-old Gonzalez (15-1, 5 KOs) has never faced an opponent of significance.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez to Defend WBC Title Against Israel Gonzalez in September

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez‘s breakout 2022 campaign continues…

The 22-year-old Mexican American professional boxer will defend his WBC super flyweight versus Israel Gonzalez in the chief support bout to Canelo Alvarez–Gennadiy Golovkin 3 on September 17 in Las Vegas, Matchroom Boxing announced Monday.

Rodriguez (16-0 11 KOs) scored the biggest win of his budding career last month with an eight-round TKO of Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Rungvisai owns wins over future Hall of Famers Roman Gonzalez (“Chocolatito“) and Juan Francisco Estrada, and Bam Rodriguez was able to pick him apart at 22 years old in a star-making performance.

The victory followed a decision win over Carlos Cuadras in February when Rodriguez, who fights out of San Antonio, captured the WBC title. (Estrada is the franchise champion.)

“Having the chance to fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend as the co-main to Canelo-GGG is truly special, and I plan on putting on another spectacular performance and continuing to build my legacy,” said Rodriguez, ESPN‘s No. 3 junior bantamweight. “Each fight now is more important than the last. It’s not about just winning; it’s how you win. That’s mine and my coach Robert Garcia‘s job now; to look sensational each and every time we step in the ring and continue to show the world that I am one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.”

Gonzalez, who fights out of Mexico, has lost in each of his world title challenges. He was stopped by Jerwin Ancajas in 2018 and outpointed by Kal Yafai later that year. Most recently, Gonzalez (28-4-1 11 KOs) dropped a unanimous decision to Chocolatito in 2020.

“I want to thank the champ Jesse Rodriguez for the opportunity,” said Gonzalez, 25. “I know I’ll take full advantage of this and make my dream come true of becoming a world champion.”

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez Defeats Srisaket Sor Rungvisai to Retain WBC Junior Bantamweight Title

Posted on June 26, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse “Bam“ Rodriguez is keeping his title…

“This is the youngest champ in boxing and he already might be a pound-for-pound great,” said Rodriguez’s promoter, Eddie Hearn. “He’s here for legacy; he’s here to be remembered.”

It was a dazzling display from Rodriguez, who headlined in his hometown for the first time. He used an excellent southpaw jab, beautiful footwork and plenty of angles to keep Rungvisai off-rhythm and at the end of his power shots.

Rungvisai (50-6-1, 43 KOs) owns victories over a pair of future Hall of Famers in their primes — Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada — so it was particularly impressive the way Rodriguez was able to pick off his heavy shots and win every round in dominant fashion.

The plodding 35-year-old from Thailand needs to set his feet to deliver his power shots, but Rodriguez never allowed him to do so. He presented a moving target, and on the rare occasion Rungvisai did close distance, “Bam” turned him around.

“In the third round I felt his power wasn’t the same,” said Rodriguez, who entered the fight rated No. 5 by ESPN at 115 pounds. ” … That’s when I decided to take over. … Having Robert Garcia in my corner is a huge advantage.”

Rodriguez, whose brother Joshua Franco holds a secondary title at 115 pounds, said he could campaign at 112 pounds before returning to the weight class.

“He’s a very underrated fighter and it’s a matter of time until he gets his shot,” Rodriguez said of Franco, who is ESPN’s No. 6 junior bantamweight.

Rungvisai, ESPN’s No. 3 boxer at 115 pounds, lost for just the second time since a 2014 technical decision defeat to Carlos Cuadras. And it was Cuadras whom Rodriguez defeated in February to announce his arrival and pick up his first world title, though Estrada remains the WBC’s franchise champion in the weight class.

WBC Announces Juan Francisco Estrada & Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez Trilogy Fight

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a trilogy for Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.

The WBC has announced a four-fighter 115-pound tournament to crown a true junior bantamweight champ, which includes a trilogy fight against the 30-year-old Mexican junior bantamweight champion and the 33-year-old Nicaraguan professional boxer.

The card will also include a bout between former champions Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Cuadras. The winners will face each other after.

For this to happen, the WBC elevated Estrada as its “franchise” champion and chose to make Rungvisai vs. Cuadras 2 for the now vacant regular 115-pound title. Estrada is the third WBC “franchise” champion (Canelo Alvarez at middleweight and Teofimo Lopez at lightweight are the others).

The request for a third battle between Estrada and Gonzalez came naturally after both were involved in a great rematch on March 13 that Estrada won in a close and controversial decision to unify the WBC and WBA world title s.

Estrada was supposed to face his mandatory challenger, Sor Rungvisai, who defeated Ekkawit Songnui by third-round TKO, also on March 13. However, the fight that generated the most interest was Estrada-Gonzalez 3 and therefore Matchroom Boxing, who promoted the rematch, began to work with the WBC to finalize the tournament.

Estrada and Gonzalez are 1-1 in their series. Rungvisai and Cuadras will meet a second time after Cuadras took the WBC junior bantamweight title from Sor Rungvisai in a technical decision victory seven years ago in 2014.

Matchroom has not announced yet when the third battle could take place and if the two title fights would be in the same card.

Juan Francisco Estrada Defeats Carlos Cuadras in 11th-round TKO

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Francisco Estrada is one step closer to a rematch…

The 30-year-old Mexican professional boxer and WBC junior flyweight world titleholder has done his part to get a rematch with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, who beat him in 2012, by defeating Carlos Cuadras in an 11th-round TKO Friday night at the TV Azteca Studio in Mexico City.

But it didn’t come easy, as Estrada had to recover from an early knockdown before stopping Cuadras late in the fight.

Estrada-Cuadras was itself a rematch of a 2017 bout that saw Estrada defeat Cuadras by a single point on all three of the judges’ cards in a 12-round fight, with the difference being a knockdown by Estrada in the 10th round.

On Friday, Estrada (40-3, 28 KOs) hit the deck in the third round when he was clipped by a right uppercut-left hook combination from Cuadras (40-4, 27 KOs). But Estrada was able to get up and control the next several rounds with precise punching, accuracy and power.

Cuadras had his moments, but he simply couldn’t match the power of Estrada’s thumping shots to the body. At times you could see Estrada hurting Cuadras with attacks to the body. To his credit, though, Cuadras mustered up enough offense to take Round 10 on the scorecards.

But at the beginning of the 11th, a three-punch combination by Estrada sent Cuadras crumbling to the floor. While it was obvious that he was on his last legs, Cuadras was able to continue and attempted to trade punches with Estrada again, and Estrada responded by hitting Cuadras again with a straight right hand that knocked Cuadras down for the second time in the round. It looked as if the fight was over, but somehow Cuadras got back to his feet once more, and showed incredible courage in letting his hands go and exchanging blows with Estrada.

Cuadras landed a few of his punches, but they simply lacked the steam and velocity in response to what was coming back his way. Finally, a right hand that snapped Cuadras’ head back forced the referee to stopped the fight at 2:22 of Round 11.

And with that, Estrada looks forward to a long-awaited rematch with Gonzalez.

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