Two-division world champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez readies himself to box as the chief support on a busy Philadephia-based undercard next weekend, when IBF welterweight titleholder Jaron Ennis returns and looks for a more emphatic showing in his Karen Chukhadzhian rematch on November 9. Having just inked a contract extension with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stable, the 24-year-old spoke about the importance of loyalty and more as Pedro Guevara awaits.
Bam: Hearn gave me a shot – my life has changed
- Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez defends his titles vs. Pedro Guevara in the chief support bout on Nov. 9, as IBF welterweight world champion Jaron Ennis rematches mandatory challenger Karen Chukhadzhian in Philadelphia
- Mexico’s 35-year-old hopeful Guevara won WBC interim title with a split decision win over former champion Andrew Moloney on May 12 in Perth, Australia – having lost a SD12 to Carlos Cuadras in November last year
- Hearn on Bam: “His rise into the top-10 of the pound-for-pound list is something we’re very proud to be a part of – there’s still so much more to come. Jesse only wants the biggest and best fights, I don’t see anything stopping him from winning more world titles at higher weight classes.”
BAM Rodriguez has already established his standing as a pound-for-pound boxing star, one who like Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani has helped shine a light on the sport’s lower weight classes, but it wasn’t always as rosy and lucrative like this.
“At one point, no-one wanted to sign me. Eddie gave me an opportunity to fight on his Fresno card, by the next fight I was signed to Matchroom and that was the Carlos Cuadras fight – from that point, my life has changed.”
After a R4 KO win over Jose Alejandro Burgos on that Fresno card in Oct. 2021, he got his shot in the weight class above 16 weeks later – dropping and outboxing Carlos Cuadras in his first 12-round bout to win the vacant WBC world super-flyweight title.
He has since reeled off contrasting world championship wins over Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Israel Gonzalez, Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez and most recently future Hall of Famer Juan Francisco Estrada sandwiched between an eagerly-anticipated flyweight unification with then-IBF champion Sunny Edwards last December.
Edwards, who returns to headline a Birmingham show on November 30 against domestic rival and Olympic gold medallist Galal Yafai, shared a card with the 24-year-old this past summer at Phoenix’s Footprint Center when boxing Adrian Curiel and was high in his praise for a former foe he’ll look to rematch one day down the line.
Mixed in with the destructive stoppage wins within his highlight reel have been some stumbling blocks and harder-than-expected challenges for Rodriguez to contend with, tricky matchmaking at a time where many of the young championship level boxers would rather preserve their unbeaten record than risk facing the world’s best.
In a Matchroom press release, the 20-0 (13 KOs) boxer spoke about why he inked a new extension as bigger steps await him after next weekend’s latest title defence:
“Loyalty is everything in boxing; if it’s not there, you don’t have anything. Eddie gave me the opportunity and I know he’s looking out for me, that’s why I feel at home at Matchroom. I have to get past this fight first, but the goal is to go for undisputed in 2025 – taking this as seriously as ever, training my ass off like any other, we’ll handle business then talk about next year.”
Picture source: Matchroom, Getty Images — quotes sourced
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