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By Noam Frauenheim –
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Eddie Hearn predicts Saturday night's fight between Bam Rodriguez and Juan Francisco Estrada could be the fight of the year and have pound-for-pound implications.
“Ahead of Saturday's fight, I would say this was the best fight so far this year,” Hearn of Matchroom Promotions said at a Rodriguez-Estrada press conference Thursday at a renovated old building in the warehouse district south of the Footprint Center. “Bam's going to face a big test. Estrada's got the track record. He's fresh.”
Estrada, 34, is 10 years younger than Bam, the Mexican-American up-and-comer from San Antonio who will be fighting in Phoenix for the second straight time since his high-profile pound-for-pound win over Sonny Edwards last December at Desert Diamond Arena near Glendale.
According to Hearn, a big win over the proven Estrada could catapult Rodriguez to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, joining the likes of Naoya Inoue, Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford.
“He's only 24,” the promoter said, “and it's just the beginning. If he puts in a phenomenal performance against Estrada, it could be a huge fight.”
By phenomenal, I mean likely to stop the fight. Bam spoke confidently of his ability to stop the tactically superior Estrada, the son of a Mexican fisherman who grew up 215 miles south of Phoenix in a town called Puerto Peñasco.
“I think I have the skill set to stop anyone,” Bam said.
But he also knows he has never faced anyone stronger than Estrada, the World Boxing Council 115-pound champion.
“This is the biggest fight for me ever,” Bam said.
Mr Estada, nicknamed “El Gallo”, says Mr Bam is standing in the way of his bold ambitions.
“It's going to be a really great weekend, especially for the people of Mexico,” Estrada said. “It's a chance for El Gallo to show that we still have a lot to do in the sport.”
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