The young gun, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, will look to dethrone WBC world and Ring super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada in a 50-50 fight this Saturday night on June 29th at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The event begins at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) feels his experience and willingness to do anything possible to win will be enough to make up the ten-year age difference between him and the 24-year-old Bam Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) in their headliner, live on DAZN.
Juan Estrada notes that the last time Bam was at 115, he struggled in his fight against Israel Gonzalez in September 2022, and he had to move down to 112 after that.
Now, Bam is returning to the 115-lb division, and Estrada believes he’s going to have just as much difficult times as he did the last time.
Undercard fights:
Sunny Edwards vs. Adrian Curiel
Yamileth Mercado vs. Ramla Ali
“This is my toughest fight to date. Estrada has been in the game for a long time. He’s been in with the greats of the lower division. This is a very tough fight. On June 29th, it’s going to be an action-packed night,” said Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez to Matchroom Boxing about his fight this Saturday, June 29th, against WBC World and Ring super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada on DAZN.
On paper, this is the toughest fight of Bam Rodriguez’s career, but it might not be. The 34-year-old Estrada hasn’t fought in close to two years, and he’s looked like a faded fighter in his last two contests.
He barely won both of those fights against Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Argi Cortes. Estrada’s last fight was in December 2022 against Chocolatito, and if he fights similarly against Bam Rodriguez, he’ll lose.
Rodriguez Unfazed
“He knocked out Edwards really good, but then again, Edwards is a flyweight but it’s a different story at super flyweight,” said Juan Estrada. “Everybody is saying I’m about to retire, but actually, I consider that at my 34 years of age, I have about four more years left in my career.”
If Estrada takes another two-year break after this fight with Bam Rodriguez, he might only have two more fights before his career is over. That’s fine because it allows Estrada to preserve himself to get through the four years, but it can’t be good for his career.
“So, the truth is, a lot of people are wrong, and this 29th, I’m going to prove it. Bam Rodriguez is ten years younger than me,” said Estrada. “He’s hungry and wants to be world champion in this division. I want to continue making history.
“I could say that I’ve been writing my legacy, but as I said, I have four or five more years left on me, and I want to continue making history. Bam Rodriguez comes with everything. He’s been a super flyweight champion before, but he didn’t look very good and had to move down to flyweight.”
Bam Rodriguez’s power isn’t as formidable at 115 as it is at 112, but he can still be a factor in this weight class, even if he loses to Estrada on Saturday night.
“I’m a fighter who made my debut at bantamweight, and I’ve been moving down. I’m more used to those divisions than he is, and maybe he will feel a little bit more the punching. I can go out, I can pressure, and I can brawl,” said Estrada.