Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is a future “pound-for-pound No. 1” as he heads into his fight this Saturday, November 9 against Pedro Guevara. With all the praise that Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn gives “Bam,” he has a lot of pressure on him.
A proven formula for Bam
So far, Rodriguez has been mostly confrontational senior fightersthat worked perfectly for him to bag scalps against former world champions. We haven’t seen Bam face anyone of note, and we can still say that after Saturday.
– Juan Francisco Estrada – 34 years old
– Srisaket Sor Rungvisai – 37
– Carlos Cuadras – 36 years old
Guevara is 35 yearsso he fits in perfectly with the type of opposition that Bam Rodriguez has fought. If Guerara had anything left in the tank, it could have made for an interesting fight because Bam was there to be hit.
Bam Rodriguez did not do well in his fight against Israel Gonzalez, and took a lot of damage to his face in that fight. It was an eye opener for some, making it clear that Bam is beatable when he meets someone who isn’t old. and can hit back.
The 24-year-old Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) will defend his WBC super flyweight title against the interim champion Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) in the co-feature on the Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. vs. Karen Chukhadzhian II card at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Hearn believes Bam Rodriguez can win world titles at 118 and 122. He’s certainly big enough to fight in those weight classes because between fights, he looks massive in size. Rodriguez does not look like a super fly.
Hearn’s prediction for Bam
“I think Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is a future pound-for-pound No. 1 in the sport. This guy has so many levels to reach,” said Eddie Hearn Matchroom Boxingahead of WBC super flyweight champion Jesse Rodriguez’s title defense this Saturday against Pedro Guevara.
Hearn is getting ahead of himself by predicting No. 1 book status for Bam because he has yet to fight anyone who wasn’t over the hill. With the massive size of Bam Rodriguez, he should fight at 126 against killers like Brandon Figueroa, Rafael Espinoza, Robeisy Ramirez and Angelo Leo. It is asking too much for Bam Rodriguez to beat this type of fighter?
Now, if Bam can step up and dominate those killers, then we’re going somewhere, but you can’t say much about him right now. Again, Rodriguez is fighting the old guys, and it seems to be a strategy to build a fake star. Hearn made heavyweight Anthony Joshua a star without facing anyone notable. Now, do it with Bam. Hearn is a master at matchmaking and has it down to an art.
“He’s still so young. He’s already a multi-weight world champion,” Hearn continued about Bam Rodriguez. “We want him to unify the super flyweight division. I believe he will go on and win bantam and super bantam. This kid has it all.”
What Hearn doesn’t say is that the 118 and 122 lb divisions are weak. Naoya Inoue is the only good fighter in Super Bantamweight. It will either be retired or moved up to 126 when Bam goes up to 122.
“They say I’m definitely one of the greats in the minimum weight classes with the way I was able to fight the so-called legendsbut I managed to stop a couple of them. That really opens people’s eyes,” said Bam Rodriguez.
Did you notice the little dig Bam takes on Estrada, Cuadras and Rungvisai? No one ever considered Cuadras or Rungvisai as legends. Estrada was past his prime by the time Bam fought. We saw it with Estrada’s last fights against Roman Gonzalez and Argi Cortes. Estrada was a shell of his former self in those two fights before Bam fought him.
“It’s more motivation to live up to what they say. I don’t want to go out there and hurt myself and ruin my reputation. Every day, I’m in the gym, trying to do better than my last performance,” said Rodriguez.
