Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez grinned the moment he hit the deck.
The brief taste of adversity early in the sixth round was all the remaining motivation that he needed to finish what he started. Rodriguez overcame that slight hiccup to brutalize Juan Francisco Estrada, whom he knocked out to win the RING and WBC 115-pound championship. A left hand to the body forced Estrada to the canvas, where he was counted at at the end of the seventh round Saturday evening at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
“To be in the ring with ‘Gallo’—a legend—and to take his belt, is just incredible,” Rodriguez told DAZN’s Chris Mannix.
The venue was the site of Rodriguez’s first title win. It happened to be the WBC 115-pound title that Estrada relinquished in exchange for the sanctioning body’s ‘Franchise’ champion designation. Rodriguez (20-0, 13 knockouts) had just celebrated his 22nd birthday when he accepted a vacant title fight versus former titlist Carlos Cuadras on just six days’ notice.
Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) looked to establish his textbook jab in the opening round of his first fight in nearly 19 months. The legendary two-division champ from Hermosillo, Mexico hadn’t fought since a majority decision win over Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (51-4-1, 41 KOs). Their memorable Dec. 2022 trilogy clash at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale was followed by an unwelcome inactive stretch for the 34-year-old.
Rodriguez was prepared for anything that the defending champ had to offer and was a step ahead during most exchanges. A straight left hand by the 24-year-old southpaw briefly caused Estrada to back up. Rodriguez continued to inch forward and counter Estrada, who at least managed a check left hook.
A relatively competitive first quickly transitioned to a showcase performance by boxing’s best young star.
Rodriguez’s angles and footwork rarely provided a clean target for Estrada. Right hands and left hooks by Estrada hit his challenger’s gloves. Rodriguez landed a left hand, pivoted and landed another before Estrada had the chance to reset.
The sign of trouble ahead came late in round three. Estrada was rocked by Rodriguez roughly one minute into the third. Rodriguez went on the attack but the long-reigning RING champ was able to remain upright.
It wasn’t the case for long.
Rodriguez produced the first knockdown of the fight in the fourth. Estrada was frozen in place by an uppercut, after which Rodriguez slammed home a straight left. Estrada hit the deck but managed to beat the count and make it out of the round. His legs still hadn’t fully recovered even as he sat on his stool in between rounds.
Estrada was hurt once again midway through round five. Rodriguez drove his elder statesmen into the ropes and landed a swarm of punches, through a disciplined attack. Estrada managed to make it out of the round but there drew concern over how much longer he could last.
Never count out a future Hall of Famer.
Estrada breathed new life into the one-sided fight with a right hand at the start of round six. Rodriguez was out of position for perhaps the lone time in the fight and suffered his first career knockdown.
It was a welcomed experience and means to close the show for the rising pound-for-pound star.
“I got dropped for the first time, that was crazy,” noted Rodriguez. “I got caught with a punch and next thing you know, I was on the floor. It was crazy but I always wanted to experience that. I know it’s bad but I want to test myself in times like that.”
Rodriguez passed that test with flying colors.
The brief moment of success did not at all provide a path for a sustained momentum shift. Estrada remained confident but it was quickly sapped as Rodriguez continued to target the body and also land from all angles.
Then came the spectacular finish.
Rodriguez punched in combination throughout the seventh. Estrada often caught air and gloves whenever he let his hands go. Meanwhile, Rodriguez walked down his bigger foe, in his first fight back at 115 in nearly two years.
Estrada drifted towards the ropes when he was caught with a digging left to the body. Another one by Rodriguez forced Estrada to fall and roll in the canvas in pain as referee Chris Flores issued the full ten count.
“Just to share the ring with them, being on the same poster with them, it’s just crazy,” noted Rodriguez, who is now a four-time titlist and first-time RING champion.
The feeling was mutual by the exiting champ, who would love nothing more than to do it again.
“I know the mistakes that I made in there,” Estrada admitted after his first defeat in six years. “I look forward to the rematch.”
Estrada was a unified titlist at flyweight before he vacated to campaign at 115. It took him two tries to become a two-division champ, which he did in an April 2019 points victory over Sor Rungvisai. The feat avenged a Feb. 2018 defeat, and was part of an eight-fight win streak preceding Saturday.
Rodriguez’s previous tour at 115 was brief—just eight months on the title stage, before he relinquished to campaign at flyweight. He’d already made his mark on the division with wins over Cuadras (42-5-1, 28 KOs), No. 4 at 115, and former RING champ Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (56-6-1, 46 KOs).
That run was followed by a second divisional title reign at flyweight. He wrapped up his 2023 campaign with a ninth-round stoppage of Sunny Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs), No. 2 at 112, to unify the IBF and WBO titles.
Rodriguez is now armed with his first RING/lineal championship and prepared to add more hardware to his collection. He could get a shot at two more for the price of one.
“I want the winner of Ioka-Martinez,” insisted Rodriguez.
The bout to which he referred is the July 7 WBA/IBF unification clash between Kazuto Ioka (31-2-1, 16 KOs) and Fernando ‘Puma’ Martinez (16-0. 9 KOs) in Tokyo.
“[Undisputed] is definitely something I’ve seen others fighters do [lately],” vowed Rodriguez. “To see them with all the belts is something that I want.”
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