“Bam” Rodriguez Seeks to Dominate the Super Flyweight Division Before Ascending
Boxer Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has set an ambitious goal: to unify the super flyweight division before moving up in weight. The boxer from San Antonio, Texas, will face Fernando Daniel Martínez for three world titles at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This fight is part of a stellar card that also includes the matchups between David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde (light heavyweight), and Brian Norman against Devin Haney (welterweight), all for world titles. Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KOs), current WBC and WBO champion, 25 years old, is coming off a victory against Phumelela Cafu in the tenth round in July, thus achieving his second title. He is currently ranked fifth in the pound-for-pound list. His next rival, Martinez (18-0, 9 KOs), 34 years old and originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has defended his WBA title four times. If Rodriguez defeats Martinez, he will only need one more belt to achieve his goal of becoming the undisputed champion at 115 pounds. IBF champion Willibaldo Garcia (23-6-2, 13 KOs), from Mexico, will defend his title against Kenshiro Teraji in Saudi Arabia on December 25th.The boxer plans to fight two more bouts in the super flyweight category before moving up. “This one and one more, to be the undisputed,” he added. Rodriguez is confident that the fight for the undisputed title against the IBF champion will materialize, thanks to the support of Matchroom and his team. “I am sure that fight will happen,” he said. Regarding his opponent, Martinez, Bam commented: “He’s a good fighter, very persistent and doesn’t stop throwing punches, but I’m more than prepared for him. Having all these boxers on the same card on Saturday is incredible and being a part of it is really exciting, it’s only good for boxing.” This will be Bam’s third defense of the title in the super flyweight category, after having unified the world titles in flyweight. Rodriguez considers that he could compete in featherweight (126 pounds) and has in his sights figures like the undisputed super featherweight champion Naoya Inoue and his Japanese rival Junto Nakatani. Rodriguez pointed out that they have discussed the possibility of reaching 126 pounds as a maximum, although time will tell if it is possible. “I think I will end my career at 126,” he added. The boxer also expressed his desire to fight in Japan in the future, a country he enjoys visiting and where he has fans.“The goal is to be undisputed, if I surpass Martínez there’s only one belt left, so I’m very close to achieving it,” Bam stated.
