Having covered nearly his entire career, nothing Jesse "Bam' Rodriguez accomplishes comes as much of a surprise. At just 22 years old he is in the pound-for-pound discussion and has captured and defended the WBC super flyweight belt. A belt he jumped up not one but two weight classes on 6-days-notice to capture by defeating a legendary little man. He defeated another surefire first ballot hall of fame in stopping Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. The man who took Chocolatitos "O" and then knocked him out cold in the rematch. That man, the Thai legend, got annihilated and dominated by Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has been awarded with ESPN's mid-year Fighter of the Year award. In a year that Canelo got absolutely dominated by a long-reigning champ in a year that the lineal heavyweight champ dominated Canelo and in a year that multiple fighters have captured "all the belts,' the 22-year-old Alamo city native tat has captured the award for the best fighter on the planet for the first half of 2022.
Rodriguez was the hardcore's darling he had fought on the undercard of Wilder-Fury 1, Spence- Mikey Garcia. He had some sensational knockouts in the Top Rank Bubble and some impressive performances on Mikey Garcia undercards. The hardcore knew Bam was something special. For a little man (under 126 pounds) to really, garner headlines and international attention, he has to do something truly special to make people take notice. The Texan has done exactly that! Exceeding every expectation, the kid that both Robert Garcia and former stablemate and the Prospect of the Year Vergil Ortiz, said was the best fighter in the stable is no longer boxing's best-kept secret. Bam's time has arrived.