If things all fall into place, we could soon see a unification clash at 115 pounds, with maybe two, even three world titles being fought for. The super flyweight division is buzzing right now, with potential superstar Jessie “Bam” Rodriguez holding the WBC title and fellow unbeaten Fernando Martinez having just added the WBA strap to his IBF belt. And finally, one of the most consistently thrilling warriors today, Kosei Tanaka, holds the WBO belt at the weight.
Each man is keen on the idea of unifying the division, which means some potentially epic action could go down. San Antonio’s “Bam” is, as we know, coming off a brilliant stoppage win over tough Mexican warrior Juan Francisco Estrada, and these two could hook up again. Estrada, who managed to drop Rodriguez before being stopped in the 7th round late last month, has a rematch clause at his disposal.
But the fight plenty of fans began calling for almost immediately after Argentine warrior Martinez defeated Japan’s Kazuto Ioka in a great action fight on July 7 (a fight that was sadly tarnished somewhat by some poor scoring) is one between “Bam” and the new WBA/IBF ruler. As full steam ahead as Martinez showed us he could be in the win over Ioka, the idea of him tangling with Rodriguez is more than enough to get any fight fan pumped up.
However, as with Rodriguez and Estrada possibly doing it again, there is a good chance that Martinez and Ioka will rumble in a rematch. And, as much as we all like unification fights, we could stand seeing both of these sequels, with the two winners then getting it on, of course, in ideal-world circumstances.
Meanwhile, Tanaka, who came up short against his countryman Ioka in a flyweight title fight a few years back but has since kept a clean sheet, defends his WBO belt against Jonathan Rodriguez in Tokyo on July 20th. Should he come through, Tanaka would no doubt want in on any possible unification fight combinations currently out there.
In short, any of these possible 115-pound matchups would be more than worth tuning in for Rodriguez, Estrada, Martinez, Ioka, and Tanaka.
Three rival world champions and a couple of former world champions, with some potential thrillers possibly on tap. Who is the top dog at Super Flyweight right now? Most would likely say “Bam,” but Martinez is some fighter. In contrast, Estrada can never be written off, although he would enter the ring for a return with Rodriguez as a considerable underdog.
Can Ioka get his revenge on Martinez, and if so, would he be able to give Rodriguez a tough time? And finally, Tanaka, might he be the dark horse of the division?
Jesse Rodriguez, WBC super flyweight champ – 20-0(13).
Fernando Martinez, WBA/IBF super flyweight champ – 17-0(9).
Kosei Tanaka, WBO super flyweight champ – 20-1(11).
Juan Francisco Estrada, former WBC super flyweight champ – 44-4(28)
Kazuto Ioka, former WBA super flyweight champ – 31-3-1(16).
Who reigns supreme when all the smoke clears?
