Who is the top dog right now at 115 pounds? Chances are plenty of fans will say “Bam” Rodriguez is the man. The reigning WBC and Ring Magazine champ at super flyweight, the unbeaten 24 year old from San Antonio showed us all again how good he is, how special he is, on Saturday night, this as he became the first man to halt Mexico’s Pedro Guevara.
And after going to 21-0(14) with his third round KO win, Rodriguez called for a unification fight or, failing that, a big fight with modern day legend Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. Well, one unbeaten fighter who holds two belts at 115 pounds has made a call out of his own, and Fernando Martinez, the reigning IBF and WBA super fly champ, has accused “Bam” of dodging him.
Taking to social media to respond to “Bam’s” call out for a unification fight, Martinez issued some bold words.
“He saw me fight [Kazuto] Ioka, and now he doesn’t mention me anymore,” Martinez, 17-0(9) wrote. “Why don’t you say you want to fight me? After Ioka (in a rematch) on December 31, I’m ready for you. Do you want to unify or not? You mentioned me so much, but then when you went to see me in Japan against Ioka, you didn’t say anything. Now you’re dodging me? Come on, unify! Let’s make it happen in 2025.”
If “Puma” Martinez can get past Ioka in their rematch (no sure thing), a fight between him and Rodriguez really could become one of the biggest, most interesting and exciting lower weight fights out there. “Bam” will not take kindly to being accused of dodging Martinez, that’s for sure. The problem here could be timing, though. Martinez may well have to come through a tough fight in his December return with the still formidable Ioka, and as a result he may not be able to fight again for some months. Will “Bam” take a fight in the meantime, as he waits for Martinez?
But this unification fight seems a natural one to make, and Martinez has laid his cards firmly on the table. Does “Bam” want the fight as much as the warrior from Argentina wants it?
Who wins and how if/when these two superb fighters get it on?
