Back in August at the Hard Rock,Tulsa Undefeated light flyweight, Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez. 14-0 (10) said in an interview with 3DBoxing that he was "Long overdue for a title fight" At that time he was there to support older his older brother, Josh Franco in his title defense against Andrew Maloney. Franco won by unanimous decision. Bam said he was willing to fight any of the champions. Rodriguez, of San Antonio, has got his wish in the most unconventional fashion. He will jump up not one, but two weight classes and fill in for future hall of famer, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, who had to pull out of the fight due to an illness, and will battle former world champion Carlos Cuadras for the vacant WBC Super Flyweight title. Cuadras won the WBC 115-pound world title from Sor Rungvisai back in 2014 in their first epic bout. He went on to defend the title six times before losing the strap to Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez in 2016.
Bam was already scheduled to face off with Fernando Diaz 10-1-1 (3), for a regional WBC title in a 10 round affair on the same card, that will be streamed live on DAZN and will take place at the home of the Phoenix Suns, the Footprint Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The 22-year-old from San Antonio agreed to take a massive step up in both talent and weight and accepted the fight on short notice against Cuadras when Sor Rungvisai had to withdraw due to a non covid-19 illness. Rodriguez was previously scheduled to fight for a WBA world title back in October of 2020 tiin Fresno, California, on the undercard Mikey Garcia vs Sandor Martin against Esteban Bermudez, however the bout was nixed by the WBA just days before the fight. Rodriguez scored a sensational fourth round stoppage over Jose Alejandro Burgos. Like Cuadras, Burgos was a naturally larger fighter who fought at 115 in the past including fighting Franco in January of 2020 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. A fight Franco won via 9th round TKO.
Cuadras, a long reigning super flyweight is looking for his second world title reign in the division and will enjoy a noticeable size advantage. However, Rodriguez is no stranger to fighting larger opponents. A natural Light flyweight, Bam has fought at both 112 and 115 in the past. The surging Rodriguez was our 2020 Prospect of the Year and has scored six consecutive victories by way of stoppage. He is considered one of the most elite up and coming young fighters in the sport regardless of weight.