Bam! Down Goes Sunny! Rodriguez unifies Flyweight Straps

Eddie Hearn labeled Bam Rodriguez vs Sunny Edwards as the best fighting the best Saturday night at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Bam Rodriguez, of San Antonio, moved to 19-0 (12), picked up the IBF Flyweight belt to add to his WBO title, and gave one of the ten best performances promoter Eddie Hearn has ever seen by absolutely destroying Sunnty Edwards of London, England.

After a competitive couple of opening rounds that saw Bam investing to the body and Edwards moving and using his jab. The rounds were reasonably close and competitive. However, it was Rodriguez landing the more meaningful shots. A vintage Bam right hook scored in the second round with about 45 seconds to go caught the attention of the Brit. Edwards bounced back with a strong third, but that was really the last moment of success he had. The fourth round saw Rodriguez pick up the pace. The now unified champ said in the press conference that he had "figured it out and saw Edwards slowing down" at this point. Edwards's eye was swelling badly, so he decided to switch to southpaw. It did nothing to confuse or frustrate the Alamo City native. Rodriguez out-jabbed the Brit and scored with powerful hooks that drove him backward into the ropes, and Rodriguez would do damage to the body of Edwards while he was in the ropes. The Texan stayed downstairs as Edwards began to slow down and became more stationary as the rounds went on. Bam began teeing off on his opponent, and it became abundantly clear that Rodriguez was going to get his man out of there. It was just a matter of when. The when came in the ninth round as Rodriguez had put together a sustained rally, and had his opponent in a world of trouble and then ended it abruptly, with an overhand left from the rafters that the sharp-shooting Texan loaded up on and scored with perfectly. The shot lifted Edwards up off his feet and put him on the canvas as the round expired. Edwards somehow got up and made it to his corner, but his team decided that was sufficient and waved off the bout, giving Rodriguez the TKO victory and making him a unified champion.

"I am satisfied I got the one period. That's the goal, but I knew I had what it takes to stop him. So that's what I did." The newly minted unified Flyweight champion explained.

Bam Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards Face Off in Orlando Ahead of December's Unification Fight

Thursday afternoon in Orlando, Florida. San Antonio's own Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez and "Showtime: Sunny Edwards, of Surrey, England met face to face at the press conference announcing their December 16th Flyweight unification fight in Glendale, Arizona.

Rodriguez, 18-0 (11), currently holds the WBO belt, and Edwards 20-0 (4), holds the IBF strap at 112-pounds. The pair of champions kept the press conference respectful and spoke well of each other. Rodrigeuz said, "I’ve never been one to say no to a fight. This is the best fighting the best. This is what every boxer dreams of." The Texan is a two-division world champion. He won his first world title at 115 pounds by stepping in on a week's notice and dominated Carlos Cuadras over 12-one-sided rounds he defended the belt twice before vacating the belt and moving back down to his more natural weight of 112. He outclassed Cristian Gonzalez in April to capture the WBO Flyweight title. This will be his first defense of that title. Rodriguez added that "this is the biggest fight of his career" and expressed much confidence in himself saying, "He hasn’t faced anyone like me. Someone with good footwork and determination. December 16th is going to be a good one."

Edwards captured his IBF world title back in 2021 by outpointing Moruti Mthalane, at York Hall in London. Showtime has successfully defended his title four times, winning all his defenses via decision, including his most recent victory in a tougher-than-expected battle with undefeated Andres Campos. Edwards compared himself to a "Rubik's cube", saying "No one can figure him out."

The pair will then continue the media tour for the event in London next week, with media activities to be confirmed around the fight week for Jai Opetaia’s IBF World Cruiserweight title defense against Jordan Thompson at the OVO Arena Wembley on Saturday, September 30th, airing live on DAZN.

Bam Rodriguez Signs to Fight Edwards in Flyweight Unification

As we reported last week, San Antonio's favorite son, two-division champ Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez has signed the contract to fight Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound unification bout. Rodriguez captured the WBO version of the belt in April via a unanimous decision over Cristian Gonzalez in San Antonio. Edwards has held the IBF belt since 2021 when he outpointed Moruti Mthalane. No date or venue has been attached to the fight at this time. However, Hearn said the scrap will likely be in the US, but not in San Antonio. Hearn flirted with the idea of Phoenix, where he said they have done well in. California is also in play according to the promoter. Hearn suggested if Edwards were to come over to the US, it would be unfair to make him go to San Antonio. The fight will take place in the 4th quarter of this year as the Texan is still recovering from the broken jaw, he suffered in the Gonzalez fight in April. Hearn expressed much excitement in the fight “Really pleased with this one! One of the best fights in boxing – respect to both!”

Rodriguez-Edwards Unification Could be Signed This Week

Two months ago San Antonio's favorite son Bam Rodriguez captured the WBO Flyweight title and made history by becoming the first two-division world champ from the Alamo City and did so at just 23 years old he got more than he expected. In addition to taking home the flyweight strap, he also left the Tech Port Arena with a broken jaw. An injury that is expected to keep the multi-divisional champ out of the ring for six months. That would mean he would be sidelined till the end of 2023 or early 2024.

When the San Antonio moved down to 112 from 115 back in April, the logical fight was a unification showdown with IBF title holder Sunny Edwards. Apparently, that fight seems to be green-lit once Rodriguez is cleared to return. Bam is back in the gym working hard and named Edwards when asked who he thought he might fight next. The two have been linked for some time and Edwards, who defended his title this past Saturday in a tougher-than-expected scrap against Andreas Campos at Wembley Arena, demanded Rodriguez "sign the contract" following his title defense. Rodriguez replied via social media with a simple and to-the-point "Let's go".

Edwards has called out and talked a bit of trash to Rodriguez, who seems to want the fight just as much. Rodriguez not known for talking trash, said to Edwards, "See you soon, Sonny" Rodriguez far prefers to make his statements in the ring. It is certainly looking like he will get that chance to make that statement in the near future. Promoter Eddie Hearn says the unification bout could be signed and made official this week. Speaking of the fight Hearn spoke highly of the fight saying “Sunny against Jesse is the toughest fight for Edwards, but I think it’s the best fight in the division... “I’m really confident we can get it done in the next two weeks,” Hearn said. “Maybe even by the end of this week."

Relentless! Bam Makes History in San Antonio!

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez made history at the Boeing Center at Tech Port Arena in his hometown of San Antonio. Rodriguez made an epic ring walk as the capacity crowd chanted, "210! 210! 210!" The hometown hero did not disappoint. The tempo of the fight was established early as Rodriguez was relentless in his attack. Firing off a jab that landed like a power shot and mixed in straight lefts and right hooks that he mixed up to the head and body. Cristian Gonzalez, a long-rangy flyweight, was on his back foot and determined to use the entire ring to keep the pressuring Rodriguez at bay. The first punch of consequence was landed by the San Antonian, to the delight of the crowd. A straight left found its mark just past the midway point of the opening stanza. Bam continued on the front foot and would keep his opponents back to the ropes. Straight lefts poured in for Rodriguez, but it was largely one shot at a time. However, a double jab stunned Gonzalez in the second round. As Bam got off to another strong start in the second round. A straight left from the Texan had Gonzalez in real trouble for the first time with about 30 seconds left in the round. The third picked up, where the second ended with Bam on the attack. He received a warning for a low blow but then had his most dominant round of the bout. The only question that remained while going into the middle rounds became whether could Gonzlaez withstand the relentlessness of the San Antonian and make it to the final bell. Rodriguez suffered what is perhaps a broken jaw in the sixth but fought through it and continued to break down his Mexican opponent.

As the rounds progressed and the action moved into the second round of the fight it became evident the straight left from Rodriguez could not miss as he cut off the ring and kept his opponent against the ropes it's amazing at this point Gonzalez is still on his feet ba had him cornered late in the 8th but he again slipped out. Going into the championship round the fight was completely one-sided as Gonzalez is strictly looking to survive. It was also obvious that he was content with not winning, not engaging, and surviving till the end and that's exactly what Gonzalez did. He made it to the final bell but the lopsided scores came in, 118-110, and much too close scores of 116-112 and 117-111 all in favor of the San Antonionian. Making Bam the first two-division world champ from Alamo City. He also apparently suffered a fractured jaw.

Two other Texans were featured on the card. Houston-based middleweight Raphael Igbokwe challenged unbeaten boogeyman of the 154-pound division, Israil Madrimov of Uzbekistan, Igbokwe, a southpaw, moved well early and landed his jab and quick counter shots that kept Madrimov honest. However the Uzbek's pressure and skill on the inside were just too much. The Houstonian continued battling valiantly and fighting to win, scoring with straight lefts and right hooks on the inside. The battle moved to the middle of the ring, which favored the pressure fighter, and Madrimov rolled to a hard-earned and competitive unanimous decision victory.

In the night's opening bout was 18-Year-old phenom and 14x national champion Jesus "Panterita" Martinez of Del Rio in a major step-up bout. Martinez battled Queens, NY, resident Jose Lopez. After a sensational first round that Panterita was able to dominate from the outside and put together lightning-quick combinations. Lopez, bigger, older, and more experienced at the professional level, was able to impose his will to a degree and get on the inside and make the fight happen at close range. It appeared Martinez was landing the cleaner, flusher, shots. However, he Panterita was beginning to fade, and Lopez rallied in the fourth. The judges saw that as enough to award the bout a three-way draw. With one judge scoring it 39-37 each way, and the third had it 38-38 even.

Bam Rodriguez Returing Home to Become Multi Division World Title

The Alamo City's favorite son Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez will return home to San Antonio and look to become a multi-division world champion on Saturday, April 8th.

Rodriguez 17-0 (11) will take on Cristian Gonzalez for the WBO's vacant flyweight title. The explosive Texan captured the 115-pound world title less than a year ago when he took on Carlos Cuadras for the vacant WBC title on six days' notice. Rodriguez moved up two weight classes and handed in a spectacular performance that put everyone from 108 to 118 on notice. He followed that up with two

successful title defenses to put together a Fighter of The Year type year for 2022.

Cristian Gonzalez is a 23-year-old, somewhat unknown prospect from Mexico. He sports a 15-1 (5) record. His best win of note came back in June of 2021 when he outpointed Saul Juarez over ten competitive rounds in Mexico City. He last fought in March of 2022 and stopped Juan Alejo Zuniga in the first round.

The bout is held for the vacant WBO 112-pound world title which was vacated by Junto Nakatani in late 2022 to move up to 115 pounds. Nakatani won the belt in November of 2020 by stopping Giemel Magramo in eight rounds and would successfully defend it twice before relinquishing it. The venue for the bout has not yet been confirmed. However, Rodriguez fought in his home city last summer at a packed-out Tech Port Arena, which was an ideal location.

Bam Rodriguez Confident WBO Flyweight Title Fight Will Happen

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez of San Antonio has had a remarkable 2022. A year that saw him go 3-0 and go from hardcore darling to megastar who took the boxing world by storm. As a result, Rodriguez will likely win the Fighter of the Year of Award.

The Alamo City native is looking to start 2023 where 2022 left off, winning world titles. Rodriguez vacated his WBC Super Flyweight title to move back down to Flyweight, a more natural weight class. Rodriguez jumped from 108 to 115 on six days' notice and gave the performance of the year back in February when he dropped and dismantled future Hall of Famer Carlos Cuadras. He successfully defended his belt at 115 pounds twice.

Now Rodriguez will look to become a two-division world champion. It appears a deal has been reached for Rodrigues to fight Cristian Gonzalez of Mexico for the vacant WBO Flyweight title, a belt vacated by long-reigning champ Junto Nakatani last month. Rodriguez is currently ranked #1 by the organization, and Gonzalez is ranked #2. Promoter Eddie Hearn has targeted the month of March to host the fight. Reaching the deal will allow the fighters to avoid purse bids. Rodriguez was confident that the fight was going to happen. While attending Hector Tanajara's fight at the Tech Port Arena, Rodriguez said, " Yea, that fight is going to happen." It looks like that will come to fruition.

The Alamo City Native is 17-0 (11) and last fought in September when he outpointed Israel Gonzalez in the co-main event of Canelo-GGG III at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gonzalez sports an impressive record of 15-1 (5). His lone defeat came back in 2019, a split decision loss to highly touted world title contender Angel Ayala Lardizabal in a six-round affair. Gonzalez last fought in March and blew out Juan Alejo Zuniga in the first round. His most impressive win came back in the summer of 2021 when he outpointed rigged veteran Saul Juarez.

As for the future for Rodriguez, it's still unclear what weight class he will compete at long term. Rumors have circulated that when Rodriguez wins the WBO belt, he will look to unify with IBF Flyweight champ Sunny Edwards, who has called Bam out multiple times. Rodriguez said, "we have to see how the weight cut goes." Rodriguez is still just 21 years old and his body is likely still getting bigger.

Bam set to Return on Canelo-GGG undercard in Las Vegas

Undefeated super flyweight phenome Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez of San Antonio continues his rise to superstardom. He will not take much of a break. He will return on the undercard of what is perhaps the biggest fight of the year, Canelo-GGG. Rodriguez last fought at the Tech Port Arena in The Alamo City and delivered for his home fans a career-best performance in stopping future Hall of Famer Srisaket Sor Rungvisai via 8th round TKO to defend his WBC super flyweight title. It will be less than three months between fights for Bam and his third fight in seven months. Pretty impressive for fighting in an era where most guys at his level fight only 1-2 per year. 

Rodriguez will put his perfect 16-0 (11) record and his WBC super-fly strap on the line against another rugged opponent in Israel Gonzalez sports a 28-4-1 (11) record and is just 25 years old. He is unbeaten in his since his 2020 loss to the legendary "Chocolatito" Roman Gonzalez. Rodriguez, who hails from Baja California, Mexico, accounted quite well for himself.IN losing a clear but competitive decision to the legend. It will be the fourth world title shot for the 25-year-old from Mexico who, in addition to the Gonzalez loss, was stopped by Jerwin Ancajas and lost to Khalid Yafai in 2018. He last fought in April at the La Paz Arena in La Paz, Mexico, and scored an 8-round unanimous decision over Misael Gracia Acevedo.

Rodriguez is perhaps the front runner for this year's Fighter of the Year and a third win in seven months over another premier 115-pounder would perhaps be exactly what the Texan needs to capture this year's award.  Rodriguez has expressed interest in moving down to his more natural weights of 108 and 112 and said in a post-fight press conference following the Sor Rungvisai destruction that he plans on moving down to 112. He will, however, stay at 125 at least for the time being.

Bam Returns to San Antonio to make Inaugural Title Defense

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez will return home and defend his WBC Super Flyweight world title against the legendary Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, of Thailand, on June 25th at the Tech Port Arena in San Antonio. It's Rodriguez's first time fighting near his hometown of San Antonio since he headlined a TMB card in the Summer of 2019, on a nearby Floresville card. He destroyed Cesar Garcia Torrijos, of Laredo, on that card in just three rounds. Rodriguez also outpointed Robert Ledesma in San Antonio in 2017 and blew out an overmatched Santiago Sanchez Bayardoin one back in 2018.

The 22-year-old Rodriguez became boxing's youngest world champion and the first-ever born in the 2000s when he outclassed the legendary Carlos Cuadras at the Foot Print Center in Phoenix, Arizona, back in February. A world title fight that he filled in for on less than a weeks notice when Sor Rungvisai had to drop out of the fight due to a non-covid illness. Rungvisai, held the WBC super flyweight title from 2017 to 2019 A title he won when he shocked Choclatito Gonzlaez in 2017 via majority decision. He followed that up by destroying the legendary little man in four rounds. Sor Rungvisai lost his belt to Estrada in 2019. Estrada is currently in line to fight Bam's older brother Joshua Franco in the summer as well.

Rodriguez gave a career-defining performance in jumping up two weight classes on a week's notice to outclass Cuadras. He went from being somewhat of a hidden gem to a superstar and being considered the best young fighter in the world overnight. He initially said that he would vacate the belt and go back down to his more natural weight of 108, but after giving the unforgettable performance to win the WBC strap, the 15-0 (10) Rodriguez said he wanted to stay and defend his title. The 115-pound division is perhaps the best in the sport. It is the money division of the smaller weight classes, so Rodriguez appears, at least for the time being, to be remaining at 115 to defend his strap.

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.

Bam Rodirguez Signs Deal with Eddie Hearn

2020 Prospect of the Year Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez of San Antonio, has signed a multi-fight deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing. Rodriguez is regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in the sport and the future of the smaller weight classes he sports a 14-0 (10)  and is long overdue for a world title fight. He will certainly bring excitement to Matchroom cards and has the right style to be a fan favorite especially with the rise in popularity of the smaller weight classes. Something Hearn and Matchroom have helped drive. 

Rodriguez will be in action next Saturday, February 5th, at the Foot Print Center in Phoenix Arizona where he will do battle with  Fernando Diaz of Riverside, California. The two will battle it out for the WBC USNBC Flyweight title and the bout will be streamed live on DAZN. The bout is on the undercard of what promises to be a fan-friendly slugfest between two of the great little men of all time as former world champion Srisket Sor Rungvisai battles former world champion  Carlos Cuadras in a Super Flyweight battle who will battle for the vacant WBC Super Flyweight title. 

Rodriguez expressed his excitement about joining the Matchroom family saying "I’m very excited to be joining the Matchroom team...This is huge for me and my career. This is my coming-out party – in 2022 we secure my World title shot, and then go looking for the biggest fights there are out there.”

"Bam"  who last fought in October n the Mikey Garcia vs Sandor Martin Card in  Fresno, California, is trained by Robert Garcia and has been called by Garcia and others as the best fighter in the camp. He is also the younger brother of WBA Super Flyweight Champ Joshua "El Profesor" Franco. He is co-promoted with Japanese promotional outfit Teiken Promotions.

Two Texans Featured on February DAZN Card in Phoenix

Eddie Hearn's Matchroom boxing will visit The Footprint center in Phoenix, Arizona, and will feature two highly touted Texans on the card that is headlined by the rematch of Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vs Carlos Cuadras on February 5th. Undefeated featherweight upstart Edward "Kid" Vazquez, 11-0 (3) looks to start 2022 how 2021 ended.  Vazquez, of Fort Worth, emerged on the scene in 2020 after having multiple fights that delayed his return to the ring in 2020. Vazquez finally broke through against Adan Ochoa in September of 2020 facing real adversity, being dropped in the second round, the Fort Worthian got up and dominated the final four rounds and took a decision victory. He followed that up less than three months later in a fight of the year slugfest on the PPV blockbuster that featured Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. Vazquez stood in with Irvin Gonzalez and traded shots at close range on his way to take a split decision victory capture vacant World Boxing Council United States (USNBC) Featherweight title in closing out a spectacular 2020. In 2021 Vazquez fought twice more and scored two impressive stoppage victories including a first-round TKO of Ezequiel Alberto Tevez in Irving back in November. He will take on Camden NJ native Raymond ford who sports a 10-0-1 record who is a highly-touted prospect with a sparkling amateur resume. He emerged on the scene looking brilliantly before facing the Fort Worth Wolf Tony Lopez, a stablemate of Vazquez at FHG, in December of 2020. Ford survived a scare and scored a seventh-round TKO. He then suffered the first blemish on his record settling for a draw with Aaron Perez. Ford has however bounced, scoring TKO's of Reece Bellotti and Felix Caraballo. 

The card also features  San Antonio's own Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez, 14-0 (10). The undefeated 108 pounder is perhaps the best pound-for-pound prospect in the world. The now 21-year-old is long overdue for a title shot. The opportunity has eluded him due to covid and other reasons. He was our Prospect of the Year in 2020 and fought just once in 2021 but made it spectacular. Destroying Jose Alejandro Burgos over four one-sided rounds and scoring a sensational KO. There is no opponent confirmed for Rodriguez yet. Bam is the younger brother of WBA Super Flyweight world champ Joshua Franco.

Bam Rodriguez Shines on DAZN Card

21-year-old Bam Rodriguez had gotten the highest of praise. Both legendary trainer Robert Garcia and blue-chip prospect Vergil Ortiz both called Bam the best fighter in the camp. That camp, Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, is home to not only Vergil Ortiz and Mikey Garcia, but also Jose Carlos Ramirez, Super Flyweight champ Josh Franco and countless other elite-level fighters.

Rodriguez, the 21-year-old San Antonio native, is considered by those in that camp as the best fighter in that camp. That's a lot to live up to. The 21-year-old phenome was supposed to battle Estaben Bermudez for the WBA 108-pound title on the Garcia-Martin undercard. An opportunity to prove himself to the world on a major card.  Bermudez, then abruptly backed out of the fight for just about a week. He was then given a fight with Jose Alejandro Burgos. A rugged opponent who had gone 9 rounds with Bam's older brother Josh Franco back in 2020 in their hometown of San Antonio. The distraction and disappointment would have shaken many fighters. Not Bam though it was Rodriguez's time to shine and he wasn't going to let it slip Rodriguez showed the boxing world exactly why Garcia and stablemates like Ortiz speak so highly of him.

Like a seasoned pro, the 21-year-old Texan methodically dissected and beat down his rugged but overmatched opponent. The southpaw landed a barrage of power shots from a litany of angels, never coming straight in, Rodriguez used the side doors to perfection scoring a sensational knockdown early in the fourth round. Laser-focused upon Burgos beating the count and convincing  Caiz he was able to continue. The San Antonian seamlessly closed the show, unloading a straight left the sent Burgos helplessly stumbling into the ropes and bringing Caiz in to wave off the bout. The Compubox statistics tell the intriguing story of just how dominant and impressive Bam scoring on 103-of-218 (47%) shots including 74-of-127 power punches (58%) while holding Burgos to 37-of-307 total punches (12%).

Rodriguez has said he is overdue for a title shot, and he isn't wrong. The phenome is now 14-0 (10) has won six in a row by stoppage and has gotten better and better as the stage has gotten bigger and opposition has gotten stiffer. A look into the landscape of the 108-pound division looks favorable for Rodriguez. On the same card,  Jonathan Gonzalez captured the WBO belt by shocking Elwin Soto. Estaban Bermudez holds the WBA "regular", Hiroto Kyoguchi holds the Super title, Felix Alvardo holds the IBF belt and Masamichi Yabuki just captured the WBC strap. Gonzalez and Bermudez have both been knocked out previously and all four fighters seemingly fight into the hands of the hard-hitting southpaw from San Antonio.

Bam Rodriguez to fight For Light Flyweight World Title

San Antonio is chock-filled with high-level blue-chip fighters. Mario Barrios, Josh Franco, Hector Tanjara, Ramon Cardenas, Kendo Castaneda, Gregory Morales,  and the listguys on and on. Whenever any of the Alamo City fighters are asked who will be the next fighter from San Antonio to capture a world title the response is quick and unanimous. Without hesitation, they respond Bam Rodriguez.  Rodriguez, an undefeated 108-pound prospect 13-0 (9), was our 2020 Prospect of the Year after scoring three knockouts in his three 2020 fights. The latter two of them were in the MGM Bubble on Top Rank cards and the first came at The Star in Frisco just prior to the pandemic on the undercard of Mikey Garcia vs Jessie Vargas. 

To give context to just how special the San Antonian is both Vergil Ortiz and multi-time trainer of the year award winner have both said that Bam is the best fighter in the camp. Both the legendary future hall of famer trainer and Ortiz, who is considered among the best and most highly touted prospects in the sport, both agree that Rodriguez is the best fighter in the camp. A camp that features Mikey Garcia, Vergil Ortiz, Jose Carlos Ramirez as well as Josh Franco, and countless others. That is incredibly high praise for the 21-year-old. Rodriguez has been waiting for a world title shot for quite some time, when asked about a world title shot and who he would like to fight he said  "My title shot is long overdue whenever one of them agrees to step in the ring with me, I'll be more than glad to do that." He is actually correct, despite being just 21-years-old his name has been mentioned in world title discussions since at least March of 2019 when he disposed of rugged veteran Rauf Aghayev in just three rounds on the undercard of Spence-Mikey Garcia. It's been two and a half years of waiting patiently. However, his time is coming.

The 21-year-old phenom is on the verge of becoming a world title and has been since he was a teenager. The COVID pandemic has delayed his title shot but that delay is over. Bam will get his shot to join big brother, Joshua Franco as a WBA world champion next month when he takes on Esteban Bermudez on October 16th on the undercard of Mikey Garcia vs Sandor Martin in Fresno, California at Chukchansi Park, home of the Fresno Grizzlies. Bermudez captured his version of the WBA belt back in May when he upset Venezuelan KO artist Carlos Canizales. This will be the first defense of the title.  Also on the card, Elwin Soto, who holds the "Super" version of the WBA belt will defend against Puerto Rican veteran and former world title challenger Jonathan Gonzalez. Setting up a logical mega-fight between the winners.