Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez has dominated out shifting as much as 122 to problem Naoya Inoue for his undisputed tremendous bantamweight championship following his dethroning of WBC tremendous flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada final Saturday evening.
Rodriguez Prioritizes Unification at 115 lbs
When requested after his seventh-round knockout victory over the Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) about his curiosity in dealing with the unbeaten Inoue subsequent, ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) stated his focus is on unifying the 115-lb division. Bam desires the July seventh unification struggle winner between IBF tremendous flyweight champion Fernando Martinez and WBA champion Kazuto Ioka.
Rodriguez wouldn’t be prepared to maneuver as much as 122 to tackle the skilled, hard-hitting Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), who has lethal accuracy, velocity, and energy.
Given Inoue’s age, 31, it’s unlikely that Bam Rodriguez will get an opportunity to struggle him earlier than he retires. It can take Bam too lengthy to maneuver up as a result of he desires to unify all of the belts at 115 lb, which can take or two.
If Jesse Rodriguez is profitable, he’ll wish to transfer to 118 first, and he would want to face WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani. He may lose to the large puncher.
Weight Disparity and Inoue’s Trajectory
“I do know individuals need that, however let’s be actual, proper now, it’s a fantasy struggle. I’ve started working my manner up,” stated Bam Rodriguez to the media final Saturday evening about his curiosity in combating Naoya Inoue.
“He’s at 122 lbs proper now; I’m at 115 lbs. I’ve obtained enterprise to deal with at this weight class. I would like the winner of Kazuto Ioka vs. Fernando Martinez,” stated Rodriguez.
Naoya Inoue plans to maneuver as much as 126 to marketing campaign at featherweight subsequent yr. So, it doesn’t appear sensible for Bam ever to struggle him.
The one manner a struggle between them may occur is that if Rodriguez have been formidable and courageous sufficient to maneuver as much as 122 instantly and beat one of many prime contenders to create strain on the Japanese star. Rodriguez won’t try this as a result of he’s enjoying it fastidiously together with his profession.
Defensive Vulnerabilities
One large downside is that Bam is simply too simple to hit, as we noticed with the photographs that the past-his-best 34-year-old Estrada was hitting him with within the struggle. When Estrada let his palms go, he gave Bam Rodriguez issues.
It was solely when Estrada stopped punching for prolonged durations that Bam Rodriguez may get his photographs off and dominate the older fighter. Rodriguez’s efficiency confirmed the identical weaknesses in his recreation that had been there the final time he fought at 115 in September 2022 in opposition to Israel Gonzalez.
Bam obtained hit rather a lot in that struggle and suffered a jaw harm in a detailed contest. After that efficiency, Rodriguez returned to 112 and did effectively, beating Cristian Gonzalez and Sunny Edwards earlier than returning to the 115-lb division final Saturday evening for his struggle in opposition to Estrada.
With Rodriguez’s victory over Estrada, he now holds the WBC tremendous flyweight title, and he’s obtained the recognition to lure the opposite champions within the weight class to face him in a unification.
