PHOENIX – Whatever your boxing list, put Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez way up on it.
The unbeaten fighter from San Antonio captured the junior bantamweight belt for the second time on Saturday night, this time with a dominant seventh-round knockout victory over Mexican legend and longtime pound-for-pound contender Juan Francisco Estrada.
Whether it's a ranking of the best American boxers, a pound-for-pound list of boxing's best welterweights, or even the best lightweight boxers, two-division champion Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) has rocketed to the top of the rankings through his own performances.
“This kid is 24 years old,” said Eddie Hearn, Rodriguez's American promoter. [Terence] Crawford, [Oleksandr] With Usyk [Naoya] Mr. Inoue, you should mention the three special letters, “Bam.”
“The future is incredibly bright.”
Rodriguez applied immense pressure and power punches to the former two-division champion, who is 10 years older than Estrada, keeping him (44-4) off-balance and landing a powerful uppercut and three follow-up punches to knock Estrada down for the first time in the fourth round.
Estrada said after the fight that he would exercise his rematch clause, and perhaps he thought the highlights of this fight were reason enough for a rematch with Rodriguez.
In the sixth round, Estrada landed a right hand early in the round, knocking Rodriguez down for the first time in his career.
“It was insane,” Rodriguez said. “I always wondered what it would be like. Now I know. I never want that to happen again.”
Rodriguez quickly turned the tide, forcing Estrada against the ropes and pummeling him, then in the seventh round, he bludgeoned the dethroned champion with a combination punch before delivering a right hand to the liver, sending Estrada collapsing and writhing in pain on the canvas.
“I got a hold of him and I saw him fall to the floor and that was it,” Rodriguez said.
Estrada, who has only been knocked out once before (by Carlos Cuadras in a 2020 bout), struggled to remember ever being hit so badly in his career.
“I know the mistakes I made and I want the rematch. I just need to box more,” Estrada said. “I made mistakes, but I'm sure I'll win the rematch.”
If Estrada does not go ahead with that plan, Rodriguez said he would like to face the winner of next month's unification bout between WBA champion Kazuto Ioka and IBF champion Fernando Martinez.
“Hopefully everyone in this division wants to prove how great they are,” Hearn said, “and Bam is.”
Rodriguez was also asked about one day meeting reigning junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue.
“I know everybody wants it,” Rodriguez said. “It's a fantasy fight.”
If there's ever a night for fighters to daydream about how great they can be, it's this night.
