Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Juan Francisco Estrada will use his rematch clause to face Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez to attempt his seventh-round knockout loss against him from last Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Bam Rodriguez scored a body shot KO in round seven when he hit Estrrada with a left to the body that put him down.
(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada)
Rematch on the Horizon
The close scoring of the fight may give the 34-year-old Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) confidence to use his rematch clause to force a second fight with the 24-year-old Bam Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs).
Estrada knocked Bam down with a right hand in the sixth round but failed to finish the job. The Mexican legend Estrada was having success when he threw sustained combinations, but when he stopped throwing, it allowed Bam to go on the attack.
The scores:
– 57-56 – Estrada
– 58-54 – Rodriguez
– 56-56
Weight Disparity a Major Factor
If there is a rematch, Estrada should push to have it at 118 or 122 rather than 115 because he looked drained at the weight. Bam Rodriguez looked huge after rehydrating for the fight and appeared much heavier inside the ring than Estrada.
Younger fighters can drain to fight in weight classes well below their fame size, and Bam is an example of that. He looked like a rehydrated featherweight [126] inside the ring, and there was no way that Estrada could beat a fighter with that kind of size advantage.
“Gallo does have a rematch clause. We’ll see how that plays out, but the future is incredibly bright,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing about Juan Francisco Estrada having a rematch clause for his fight last Saturday night against Jesse Rodriguez.
It might not be a good idea for Estrada to take the rematch with Bam Rodriguez because if the fight is at 115, it’ll be the same thing again. Bam will have a size advantage after he rehydrates, and Estrada will be drained and too small.
Alternative Option: Chocolatito at 118
Estrada should follow Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez up to 118 to fight him in that weight class because that would be a bigger money fight than a rematch with Bam Rodriguez, and it would be easier to make weight without being drained.
Moreover, Estrada wouldn’t have to worry about fighting a glorified featherweight on the night like he would if he fought Bam again.
“On one judges’ scorecard, Estrada was up by two points, which was wild. Another one had it all square, which again is very favorable to Estrada. But it was a very competitive fight,” Hearn said.
Estrada beat Chocolatito by a controversial 12-round decision in his previous fight in Arizona, so it’s not surprising that two of the judges scored him favorably against Bam.
Hearn’s View on the Fight
“Some of the rounds were close. He knocked Jesse down, but Jesse was still dominating the fight early,” said Hearn.
Bam Rodriguez was dominating the fight, but he was facing a legend in Arizona, and you got to do a little bit more to beat a fighter as famous as Estrada.
“I would have loved to see it go into the stretch because Gallo is a very good finisher. I think he’ll look to take the rematch, but we’ll see,” said Hearn about Estrada.
