Bam Rodriguez Becomes Boxing's Youngest World Champ

Seven days ago Bam Rodriguez was supposed to take what amounted to a stay busy fight against Fernando Diaz.  A kind of a welcome to the Matchroom family fight. Instead, he jumped up two weight classes and took on a legend of the ring and future Hall of Famer in Carlos Cuadras on less than one week's notice for the WBC Super Flyweight title. Rodriguez did the unthinkable and dominated the former champ, dropped him in round number three, controlled the rest of the fight, rolled to the unanimous decision victory, and captured the Super Flyweight title.  He became boxing's youngest world champion at just 22-years-old. He also joins older brother Joshua Franco as a world champion.

At the prefight presser Rodriguez said  “When I got the call, I had no hesitation,”. He added “This is my moment. San Antonio will have a new champion and a star will be born” High expectations, but Bam certainly did not disappoint. Landing on 258 of 688 total punches (38%). After a fairly close first-round Bam seized control of the fight in the second and dropped the former champion in the third round. He remained in control of the fight from that point on. Using his incredible angles and combination punching he was clearly wearing Cuardas down. Rodriguez pumped his fist several times while working to his corner, knowing his lifelong dream of being a world champion was becoming a reality. He hurt Cuadras with a body shot in the fourth. He staggered his man in the fifth with an uppercut followed by a left hand.  The San Antonian remained in control the remainder of the bout. Cuadras did put some good moments together and Rodriguez said "I am sore" and his face showed some swelling from the non-stop work from a rugged former champ, but his moments were far too few and short-lived. The 22-year-old San Antonian closed the show like a veteran. Firing off a four-punch combination that again Rocked Cuadras and after the two traded heavy artillery Rodriguez finished the final round with two-picture perfect land hands. The scorecards were academic as all three judges scored for Rodriguez, by scores of 117-110x2 and a much too close 115-112.

The undercard featured Edward Vazquez of Fort Worth, Texas, who was absolutely robbed out of a win. Vazquez out-landed and outworked fellow unbeaten featherweight Raymond Ford, over 10 competitive but mostly one-sided rounds. After the scorecards were read off 96-94 for Vazquez and 98-92 and 97-93 in favor of Ford, the crowd erupted in boo's and DAZN commentator responded to the decision by saying "Embarrassing" no other words were needed. Ford's promoter Eddie Hearn also acknowledged that Vazquez was impressive and deserved the decsion. 

Four additional Texans took the ring just a few hours away in Las Vegas, Nevada. Brownsville native Omar Juarez scored a split decision victory over Milano native "Cowboy" Ryan Karl in a highly entertaining, fan-friendly brawl. Juarez moved his record to 13-1 (5) putting most of the early rounds in the bank using his speed and precise counter-punching to build up a lead on the scorecards. Karl battled back in the second half of the fight and appeared to slow and a cut above Karl's eye caused him to fight with a sense of urgency and he was able to draw the prospect from Brownsville into a slugfest. The 10th and final round was an all-time keeper. The round started with Juarez landing back-to-back right hands that Karl took and answered back with a thudding three-piece combination. The fast-paced round ended with the two warriors exchanging toe to toe for the final 15 seconds.

The card also featured Corpus Christ native John Rincon coming back from a nearly two-year layoff. He scored an impressive unanimous decision victory over  Ramon Duarte Marquez in a four-round affair. Rincon moves to 6-0 (2) in his promising young career.

The main event didn't go so well for The Lone Star State as former 140-pound world titleholder Mario Barrios of San Antonio, lost a spirited battle to former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman. Barrios fell behind on the cards early but rallied a little bit in the second half of the fight, but it was too little too late as he dropped the decision unanimously to Thurman by scores of 118-110x2 and 117-111.

Two San Antonionians Headline; Six Texans in Action

The first major weekend of boxing of the new year is absolutely loaded and stacked with fighters from the Lone Star State. The two major cards this weekend are headed up by two fighters from San Antonio. Former WBA 140-Pound World champ, Mario Barrios, returns to the ring for the first time since his fight of the year type fight with Tank Davis in June of last year. Barrios suffered his first career loss to Davis, a three-division world champion, via 11th round TKO. Barrios moves up to welterweight for the first time and instead of fighting a soft touch, he opted for the biggest challenge of his professional career. He battles former unified welterweight champ, Keith Thurman in the main event of a card at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. About 300 miles away at the Footprint center in Phoenix, Arizona. Barrios's long-time friend and fellow Alamo City native Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez literally and figuratively take the biggest fight of his career. The 22-year-old phenom jumps up not one, but two weight classes to battle future hall of famer Carlos Cuadras for the WBC Super Flyweight strap and looks to capture the first world title of his promising career. A career that is expected to produce multiple world titles in multiple weight classes.

While Barrios and Bam headline the cards, the undercards are stacked with Texans. On the undercard of Thurman-Barrios, Brownsville native and highly touted jr welterweight prospect "El Relampago" Omar Juarez will battle long time contender "Cowboy" Ryan Karl, who hails from a town called Milano, a small town about 60-70 miles northeast of Austin, in an all Texas throwdown. Karl, 19-3 (12)  had previously fought for a world title when he lost to Barrios in San Antonio on the undercard of Davis-Santa Cruz. Juarez, the blue-chip prospect, is on the fast track to fighting for a world title at 140 pounds and sports a 12-1 (5) record, he suffered his first career defeat back in June when he dropped a split decision to All Rivera in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He bounced back nicely and scored a dominant one-sided decision over 40-fight veteran Jairo Lopez. The fight will air on Fox in the build-up to the Thurman-Barrios PPV. Also on the card is Corpus Christi native John Rincon. He puts his 5-0 (2) record on the line against 4-0 (4) Ramon Duarte Marquez in a battle of unbeaten prospects. After a quick start to his career that saw Rincon fight on several major cards, he has been out of the ring for nearly two years for a litany of reasons.

On the Arizona card headlined by Cuadras and Bam Rodriguez, Fort Worth native, undefeated Edward "Kid" Vazquez will battle highly touted and undefeated New Jersey-based prospect Raymond "Savage" Ford in what promises to be a TV-friendly fight between two unbeaten featherweight prospects. Vazquez has delivered action-packed fights in the past when he got up off the canvas to dominate Adan Ochoa in a bout that was televised on ESPN and then he delivered a non-stop fight of the year type slugfest and outlasted Irvin Gonzalez on the undercard of the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr PPV in November of 2020. Vazquez sports a perfect 12-0 (3) record and could be looking at a world title fight by the end of the calendar year should he beat Ford Saturday night at the Footprint Center

Two Texans take a Huge Step Up on DAZN Card

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez of San Antonio got the phone call that could change his life. On Sunday Rodriguez was the newest member of the Matchroom Boxing and was preparing to fight a solid opponent in Fernando Diaz for a regional belt. No small task. That's when the San Antonian got the phone call that could change his life. He was informed that Srisaket Sor Rungivisai who twice beat the legendary Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez, was out of a world title fight with Carlos Cuadras, due to an illness and he was in. He would get his world title shot, one that even at just 22-years-old is long overdue for. It's just not a title shot it's a shot at a legend of the ring. One of the best and most exciting little men to have ever done it. It's also against a fighter two weight classes bigger than him. That's how confident Bam is and how confident his famed trainer Robert Garcia is and the rest of his team is in him. There was no hesitation to throw Bam in on short notice against a former world champ and legend of the ring that's two weight classes bigger than him on six-days notice. There is a mystique around the name Bam Rodriguez people don't just expect him to be a world champion they expect him to win multiple world titles in multiple divisions. He's one of a handful of fighters that represent the future of the sport. In simple terms "Bam is special". He gets to show the world just how special he is this Saturday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Should he win, should he jump up not one but two weight classes and beat a potential future hall of fame,  at just  22-years-old, Rodriguez would find himself in pound-for-pound discussions.

Also, on the card is Fort Worth's own Edward "Kid" Vazquez who, just like Bam, undefeated, but has taken a far different path. Vazquez found himself in a contract dispute that kept him out of the ring for prolonged periods. He finally got himself out of the contract. Signed with a new management company and got ready to fight. Then Vazquez ran into another issue, he had about half a dozen flights canceled due to the pandemic. One fight after another was postponed or canceled. "Kid" kept doing the only thing he knows to do. He kept fighting and he finally got his shot to shine. He got a fight on ESPN in the Top Rank bubble in Las Vegas. After a clean and impressive first round, the Fort Worthian found himself on the canvas and despite having just eight pro bouts got himself up, dusted himself off then controlled the final four rounds to take a decision over Adan Ochoa. He came back just two months later came back and on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr, Vazquez scored a thrilling decision victory in a fight of the year, non-stop, action-packed, eight-round war with Irvin Gonzalez to capture the WBC USNBC featherweight title. He has scored a few more victories in stay busy fights and again gets to play the role of underdog and spoiler. Raymond Ford had a spectacular amateur career and was one of Matchroom's most touted US prospects and after a brilliant start, he suffered a draw with Aaron Perez. He bounced back nicely and scored some quality wins but is now matched incredibly tough with Vazquez. The two unbeaten prospects have more than an "0”' in their L columns the winner will jump to the head of the line and could be in a position to fight for a world title later in 2022.

Rodriguez Gets Major Opportunity; Will Fight Cudras for WBC Super Fly Title

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.