Trainer Robert Garcia has known all along what type of fight Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is.
“He’s special,” said Garcia.
One of the top trainers in the sport is still beaming from Rodriguez’s knockout win over Juan Francisco Estrada this past Saturday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Rodriguez (20-0, 13 knockouts) won the Ring Magazine junior bantamweight championship and the WBC world title belt.
From the opening bell, Rodriguez was the more-effective fighter, breaking Estrada down, hurting him multiple times and scoring a knockdown in round four. Despite being knocked down in round six, Rodriguez landed a devastating punch to the body that dropped Estrada for the count at the end of round seven.
Garcia, who has trained Rodriguez since the age of 15, knew Rodriguez would excel and exceed fight fan’s expectations of how the fight played out.
“It was a great fight,” Garcia told The Ring Tuesday evening. “I wasn’t surprised with Bam’s performance because I know what he could do. I think he can still do much more. I’ve said it since he was a kid and I wasn’t wrong. This kid is special.”
Rodriguez’s win did not go unnoticed in boxing circles. Junior welterweight contender Kenneth Sims commented on X (formerly known as Twitter) his thoughts on the win.
“OMG!! YOU ARE SPECIAL!! @210,” was what Sims posted. “24-Year-Old HALL OF FAMER!!”
There was some scrutiny after the fight with the judges’ scorecards. Entering round seven, judge Steve Morrow had Rodriguez up 58-54, and judge Robert Tapper of Canada had the fight even 56-56.
Judge Javier Castillo had Estrada up 57-56. He scored the first three rounds for Estrada.
Garcia is glad the fight ended early, avoiding any controversy, should the fight have gone to the scorecards.
“The scorecards did surprise me, but I’m glad we didn’t have to go to the scorecards,” said Garcia, who owns the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside, California.
Garcia did confirm Rodriguez, who resides in San Antonio, Texas, will be ringside for this Sunday’s unification clash between WBA world titleholder Kazuto Ioka and IBF titleholder Fernando Martinez. The 12-round bout will take place at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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