In a passing off the torch between two generations at super flyweight, the young lion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) had too much firepower for the old warrior WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs), scoring a seventh-round knockout on Saturday night at the Footprint center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Bam Rodriguez was picking the 34-year-old ring-rusty Estrada apart from the opening bell, landing at will with either hand, backing him up and weakening his legs.
Rodriguez was landing through Estrada’s guard with hard combinations that took the fight out of him.
While there was a bit of drama in the sixth round when Estrada caught Rodriguez with with a right hand that dropped him, Bam got got up and gathered himself well.
Estrada looked thin and drained in appearance, not the fight we’d seen two years ago in his last performance in 2022 against Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez. This version of Estrada had aged, and it’s clear from looking at him that he’d taken a lot of weight off in camp to make the 115-lb limit.
Rodriguez, 24, was relentless with his attacks, knocking Estrada down in the fifth round with a left straight down the pipe. The punch had Estrada ready to go; as he got up, he could barely defend himself from the barrage of punches that he was met with by Bam.
In the seventh round, Bam Rodriguez landed the perfect finishing blow, left to the body that was perfectly placed, sending the old warrior Jian Francisco down in pure agony, rolling around on the canvas while grabbing his midsection in utter pain.
Referee Chris Flores stood over Estrada, waiting on him like he was expecting him to rise, but when it became clear that he was too hurt to continue, he waved it off. They signaled the end of the Mexican great Estrada’s reign as the champion at 115 and showed what many fans already knew. He’s past his prime and needs to retire.
A Passing of the Torch
In the build-up, Estrada had talked about wanting to continue fighting for several more years, suggesting that he could face his old nemesis, Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez, in a fourth fight. It sounded like a pipe dream at the time, and that’s exactly what it was—a self-deluded dream with no basis in reality.
With the win, the 24-year-old Bam Rodriguez is now the king of the 115-lb division, but unfortunately, without a big name to fight. He’s king with vacant kingdom with no royal subjects for Bam to rule over.
