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