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 and Sunny Edwards Get Official Date and Location

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.

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!”

Bam Rodriguez Likely to Unify with Edwards in 4th Quarter of 2023 in West Coast

The WBO-IBF Unification bout between Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards seemed like an inevitability as soon as Bam captured the WBO strap in his home city of San Antonio and became the first-ever two-division world champion in the famed fight cities history. To make the situation smoother, the Lone Star Stater was more than willing to travel across the pond and fight Edwards in his backyard in the UK. When the Alamo City Native broke his jaw on his way to becoming a two-division world champ back in April, it appeared that the fight would be scrapped at least for the foreseeable future, and the 2022 "Fighter of the Year" would be on the sidelines for the remainder of 2023. However, it now seems we will get that fight, and even better for Rodriguez, the fight will be made in the US. Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn, who represents each champion said, "We are close, we really close." When asked for a date, he responded, "November, December. We have to wait on Bam's jaw, so we're looking at the end of 2023." Hearn also went on to say, that the fight would be in the United States but "Not in San Antonio'' The fight will likely be made for late 2023 on the West Coast. Hearn went on to explain his reasoning "We didn't do great in San Antonio, and it wouldn't be fair to Edwards." Out-of-town fighters have historically received a rough time getting a fair shake in Texas. Hearn said, "Either California or Arizona. We have done well in the past in Phoenix."

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."