Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez said he should be in the top five pound-for-pound after knocking out legendary Mexican boxer Juan Francisco Estrada on Saturday night in Phoenix.
With the win, Rodriguez (20-0 (13 KOs)) reclaimed the WBC super flyweight title and won his first Ring Magazine belt.
“I'm a legendary beater,” Rodriguez said. “The stronger my opponent, the better I perform. I've always felt that way. It was just a matter of time before the world found out.”
“I've said I'm willing to fight a couple of bouts at 115 pounds. I know there's a rematch clause with Estrada. If Estrada wants it, we can have a rematch. If not, I'd like to face the winner of Ioka Kazuto vs Fernando Martinez. It would be a great fight. Ioka might be a little too technically difficult for Martinez, so I think he'll win.”
“I'd love to fight in Japan. I've been there a few times and seen some boxing matches there, but the atmosphere is different. So I'd love to go and fight anyone.”
“Estrada is a legendary fighter and he will come back and try to beat me, but I will only get better from here.”
Rodriguez started the bout on the offensive, staggering Estrada with a sharp uppercut in the third round before slamming the defending champion. The next round brought another big breakthrough for the Texan, as he landed another uppercut and a left punch to finish “El Gallo.”
But just as “Bam” stepped up his game and looked to end the bout before the half-way mark, Estrada knocked the 24-year-old down for the first time in his career with a right hand, bringing the capacity crowd to its feet.
Rodriguez remained calm and finished the rounds strong, and the defining moment came at the end of the seventh round, when Rodriguez landed a devastating body shot with a left hand that took Estrada down.
Rodriguez was in control of the bout, but when the fight was stopped, one of the referees predicted the victory for Estrada.
“The scorecards are pretty crazy for me. I thought I was in control of the fight. Even in the rounds when I went down, I came back and finished the rounds pretty strong. So the cards were a shock to me, but that's boxing and that's how it is. I'm glad I was able to get him out of there,” he said.
“I was too careless when I was dropped. [Trainer] Robert [Garcia] They told me in the last round to stay calm and keep doing what I'm doing, but honestly, I was too relaxed and got hit with a great shot. It was a quick knockdown. When I went down, I got back up with a smile on my face and stuck to my game plan. It's just a learning experience.
“Chocolatito” [Roman Gonzalez] Sparring was the best part of this camp. He has been in the ring with Estrada three times and knows him better than anyone. I am very grateful for those rounds and I want to thank “Chocolatito” for the three sparring sessions we had.
“It's the best win I've ever had. Like I said before, he's a legend and has been on the pound-for-pound rankings for a long time, so to be able to dominate him out there like I did says a lot about my performance and my talent.”
“At first I didn't really care about being on the pound-for-pound list, but then I got on that list after my win against Sonny Edwards, so that felt better than winning a fight. So it's an honor to be on the pound-for-pound list with other great fighters. There was talk before the fight that I'd go up on that list, especially if I stopped him, but I'd definitely be in the top five pound-for-pound.
“I've fought in Arizona three times but this is the biggest fight. Phoenix is a special place to me. I love fighting here and the atmosphere was amazing.”
“It's amazing to have my name mentioned alongside Naoya Inoue. I'm a 115-pound fighter and he's 122, so it just shows how talented I am.”
His promoter, Matchroom's Eddie Hearn, was delighted with Rodriguez's performance.
“It was an incredible fight,” Hearn said. “The first half of the fight felt like Bang had the upper hand, but then Estrada fought back with a knockdown that looked to turn the tide of the fight. Jesse recovered but Estrada got back in the fight, and all of a sudden, a perfect body shot landed and Estrada couldn't catch his breath or get up. It was a shocking end to a great fight.”
“Estrada has been out for a while and I think it might take a while for him to get back in the fight. He's a very good finisher with 'El Gallo,' especially in the back straight. But [Rodriguez] Jesse hurt him early on, but Jesse looked very strong and is really coming on strong for a 24 year old.
“The problem with the lower weight classes is that they often don't get the respect of the fighters in the higher weight classes. To me, Jesse is like Terence Crawford, Inoue, [Oleksandr] Usyk.
“he [Carlos] Cuadras, passing [Srisaket Sor] Rungvisai stopped Edwards and knocked out Estrada. He was already on the pound-for-pound list, but I think he's now in the top five. He's 24 and has four or five more years of his prime ahead of him. We're honored to represent him.
“You saw the crowd. We're in Phoenix, not San Antonio. There were a lot of Mexicans there, but Bam had a big cheer. He's a real star. The rematch will be there. There's a chance in Japan. There's a chance to come back to San Antonio, there's a chance to come back to Phoenix.”
“The future is bright. He is looking to unify the weight classes. 'El Gallo' has the option of a rematch and we'll see how it goes.”
