Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is set to face a 16-year pro and former major titlist from Mexico for his next outing.
No, not him.
The Ring has confirmed that San Antonio’s Rodriguez (20-0, 13 knockouts) has finalized terms for a mandatory WBC title consolidation bout defense versus Mexico’s Pedro Guevara. The 115-pound championship clash will take place Nov. 9 and likely in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, per multiple sources.
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) would headline the show if the location holds. The particulars are still being worked out regarding his IBF welterweight title obligations.
Rodriguez won the RING junior bantamweight crown and regained the WBC title in a seventh-round knockout of Juan Francisco Estrada. Both fighters hit the deck in their June 29 championship clash in Phoenix, Arizona. Rodriguez recovered to put away Mexico’s Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) and end his reign.
Their bout came with a rematch clause, which Estrada initially exercised earlier this summer. However, The Ring has confirmed that Estrada moved on and will now campaign in the bantamweight division.
ESPN Knockout’s Salvador ‘Chava’ Rodriguez was the first to report that development.
Estrada’s decision paved the way for Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) to enter the mix.
The former WBC 108-pound titlist from Mazatlan, Mexico has won 12 of his last 13 starts since his last major title fight seven years ago. Guevara’s one loss during that period came to Carlos Cuadras in their Nov. 17 interim WBC 115-pound title fight in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Interestingly, this scenario should have set up a Rodriguez-Cuadras rematch. Rodriguez defeated the former two-time WBC 115-pound titlist to win that belt in Feb. 2022. Cuadras made his way back into contention but suffered an injury which prevented a title defense versus Australia’s Andrew Moloney (26-4, 16 KOs).
Guevara replaced Cuadras, and wound up in the right place at the right time. He claimed the interim belt in a twelve-round split decision on May 12 in Perth, Australia. The win catapulted him to No. 6 in The Ring’s 115-pound rankings.
Rodriguez is the division’s champion and No. 5 pound-for-pound. His two 115-pound title reigns bookended his brief stay at flyweight. Boxing’s youngest titleholder claimed the WBO and IBF belts in back-to-back fights in 2023.
Guevara held the WBC 108-pound title from Dec. 2014 to Nov. 2015. His bid to regain the belt ended in an Oct. 2017 majority decision to Kenshiro Teraji.
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The post Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez Set To Defend 115-Pound RING Championship Against Pedro Guevara appeared first on The Ring.
