By Cliff Rold

The winner of the BoxingScene and ESPN 2014 Fight of the Year didn’t end his year with a victory in the ring.

He didn’t lose either.

One fight after defeating Katsunari Takayama to become only the third fighter to unify a portion of the 105 lb. title, Mexico’s Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (16-2-1, 11 KO) held serve.

He’ll want to do more than that this Saturday (UniMas, 12 AM EST/11 PM PST).

Only 21 years old, Rodriguez has already shown himself to be a thriller.  The war with Takayama was breathless stuff.  His first major belt win, over Merlito Sabillo, was a breakthrough knockout.  His toughness was already proven in a lopsided loss to Roman Gonzalez where he finished on his feet, taking a steady beating but not in imminent trouble.

What he has to do now is show himself to be more than a guy who was able to shrink down temporarily to boxing’s smallest division for belted success.

His last fight gave reasons to wonder.  Matched in a stay busy Flyweight fight with Jomar Fajardo (14-5-2, 7 KO) on the road in the Philippines, Rodriguez escaped with a ten-round draw.  It probably should have been a win. 

Rodriguez let it be closer than it should have been.  It was enough to get Fajardo a rematch.  This time, Rodriguez has home turf and a chance to correct a verdict. 

The first fight had the look of a set-up for something bigger.  In the pre-fight build, Rodriguez called out WBO 108 lb. titlist Donnie Nietes.  He was in Nietes’ backyard.  Rodriguez still held the WBO and IBF belts one class lower. 

Boxing is sometimes very complicated.  Just as often, it’s simple.  Rodriguez travels, calls out the champ, wins, and presto.

That’s how it’s supposed to work.

Fajardo had other ideas.  He made a fight of it.  When the verdict came in, he delayed a possibly intriguing direction for a division in need of one.  A lot of talent has come through 108 lbs. recently.  Roman Gonzalez was there.  Giovani Segura and Ivan Calderon have come and gone.  Kazuto Ioka passed by.   

Rodriguez enters this weekend the top WBO contender to Nietes.

With a win, he can push for a title opportunity.

That’s all it is.  It’s enough to get excited about.

Make no mistake.  Nietes (34-1-4, 20 KO) is the class left standing.  His rematch knockout over Moises Fuentes last year made that crystal clear.  Now reigning in his second class after a solid run at 105, Nietes is one of those quiet talents that merits more appreciation.

In eleven title fights, he’s defeated four current, future, or former titlists.  Rodriguez would make five.

Rodriguez would make a good fight.

Will we get a showdown?

Much may depend of where Nietes goes in 2015.  There was speculation last year that he was headed to Flyweight.  Some of that talk dialed back at the end of the year but a rise feels inevitable. 

At 108, there is Nietes, Rodriguez, and newly minted titlists Pedro Guevara (WBC) and Javier Mendoza (IBF).  That’s the cream.  There isn’t much else.  Rodriguez has some name value because of what he did last year at 105, but for hardcore fans the real meat and potatoes is north.

Gonzalez.  Juan Francisco Estrada. Ioka. Juan Carlos Reveco. Zou Shiming.  Brian Viloria.

Flyweight is deep, relatively more profitable, and exciting.  Nietes keeps winning and he’s going to be in that mix.

He’s going to add to that mix. 

As long as Nietes remains one class south, Rodriguez is what looms in the ratings.  Rodriguez has business to attend to this weekend.

He didn’t see Fajardo coming the first time.  Expect his attention to be there for round two.      

Cliff’s Notes…

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao went to a Miami Heat game!  They might fight, finally, past their primes.  They ‘coincidentally’ meet up on the court of a team already past its prime. That’s appropriate…The Royal Rumble had a great title match and the worst booked Rumble match ever.  WWE replayed it for free on Monday and ratings went up.  We’ll see how that plays out…Almost finished reading all the available collections of “The Unwritten.”  Highly recommended…Bob Arum doesn’t lose in court on contract issues often.  Don’t pencil in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Andrzej Fonfara just yet…Could a Chavez release be tied into Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations?  Just a thought…Arrow, Flash, and Constantine have all returned and hit the ground running.  It’s a good time for comics TV…Not sure what the point of the WBC Jr. Middleweight tournament is given who is entered, but tournaments in general are fun.  Combine that with new “Boxcino” and that all sounds like lots of fun…Is there any channel without a Premiere Boxing Champions show coming up?     

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com