Finally, WBO Flyweight Champ and San Antonio's favorite son Bam Rodriguez and IBF champ Sunny Edwards of Surrey, UK, have an official date and location. Eddie Hearn, as well as Rodriguez, have both confirmed that the fight was going to happen in the fourth quarter and on the West Coast. However, no date or location was official. Until now! The two will officially unify their Flyweight straps on December 16th at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. In the same state, Rodriguez had his star-making performance when he dominated future hall of famer the legendary Carlos Cuadras to capture his first world title, the WBC Super flyweight crown, in February 2022.
Promoter Eddie Hearn noted that "fighting in San Antonio wouldn't be unfair to Edwards" and added, "We've done well in Arizona before."
Rodriguez, 18-0 (11), is a two-division world champion, the first ever from Alamo City, to accomplish the feat. He captured his 112-pound world title when he outpointed Cristian Gonzalez back in April at the Tech Port Arena in San Antonio. He suffered a broken jaw in his otherwise one-sided victory and was expected to be out before the end of the year. However, according to Rodriguez, his recovery went well, and he was "feeling good."
Edwards, 20-0 (4), won his version of the flyweight title back in April of 2021 with perhaps the best performance in his career, a one-sided beatdown of Moruti Mthalane. He has defended his belt four times since then, including a win over Felix Alvarado, and most recently, he defeated Andres Campos in June in a tougher-than-expected contest.