The birth of his second child will undoubtedly remain the highlight of the week for Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
But his one-sided drubbing of Argentina’s Fernando “Puma” Martinez to unify three 115lbs titles was the perfect complement to that life update.
San Antonio’s Rodriguez delivered arguably the finest performance of his already brilliant career with a 10th-round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Martinez. A straight left put the deposed WBA titlist down and out at 1 minute, 35 seconds of Round 10 in their three-belt unification Saturday at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“He was a tough opponent, a world champion himself,” Rodriguez said after the fight. “He was tougher than I expected, but I got the job done.”
Both boxers executed strictly to their respective scouting reports. Rodriguez opened with the jab but largely used his exceptional footwork to set up his combinations. Martinez was aggressive to a fault at the start but eventually settled in and found a home for his left hooks to the body. Rodriguez responded in kind with right hooks both downstairs and to the head.
Martinez found a way to channel his aggression in the second round. Refusing to settle for throwing punches just for the sake of it, the unbeaten Argentine rattled off power-punching combinations. Rodriguez managed to pick off most of the shots and stay mindful of the incoming.
The same could not be said in return, as Rodriguez used angles both to disrupt Martinez’s rhythm and also to set up his own attack. Rodriguez mixed up his approach, at times throwing in succession down the middle and then whipping his right hook around Martinez’s guard. Martinez was forced to contend with a bloody nose after three rounds. By the end of the fourth, he already bore the look of an overwhelmed fighter as his team urged him to dig deep and somehow find his second wind.
Rodriguez refused to allow that to come to fruition. Martinez walked straight into a Rodriguez jab and left hand in the fifth, though he managed to pick off a follow-up shot. Still, he was unable to offer anything of substance in return, while Rodriguez dazzled with combinations, favoring a double jab to the body followed by an assortment of power shots.
Martinez found a moment to at least attempt to swing momentum in his favor. Rodriguez intentionally slowed his offense in the sixth, though he was able to display superior defense. Martinez complained prior to the start of the seventh of discomfort from his apparently broken nose. Rodriguez found a way to let him off the hook, even though he continued to pick apart his fellow titlist. Still, Rodriguez took his foot off the gas a bit, as he threw glossy combinations but then backed off just enough to inflict the type of punishment that could end the fight.
The trend was detected by Robert Garcia, Rodriguez’s career-long head coach and the reigning Trainer of the Year. A sense of urgency was struck in the corner, even as Rodriguez led 8-0 to that point.
Martinez tried in vain to turn things around in the ninth. He was far busier than in preceding rounds, but Rodriguez rarely got caught with anything clean. The beginning of the end was offered during a sequence when Rodriguez rocked Martinez and drove him into the ropes but chose to not get reckless and instead allow the knockout to come organically.
He didn’t have to wait very long.
Martinez was on his last gasp, as few of his punches landed clean while he was getting hit with too much in return. Still, Rodriguez was steady enough in his attack that the fight threatened to creep towards the championship rounds.
Or … he just did his part to lull Martinez into a false sense of confidence.
Rodriguez created just enough daylight in Martinez’s guard to slam home a straight left hand. Martinez fell flat on his back, in the same round in which he was dropped by Kazuto Ioka in their rematch this past May in Tokyo.
While Martinez, 18-1 (9 KOs), survived that sequence and went on to defeat Ioka for a second straight time, he wasn’t nearly as fortunate here. Instead, the battered and now former titlist remained on the deck as referee Edward Collantes reached the count of 10.
The setback ended the second half of Martinez’s current title reign. He previously held the IBF 115lbs belt from 2022 through his July 2024 victory over Ioka in their IBF-WBA unification match. An undesirable mandatory prompted Martinez to vacate and move forward with the Ioka rematch, in which he retained the WBA belt.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez, 23-0 (15 KOs), made the third successful defense of his second WBC 115 lbs title and the first of his recently acquired WBO belt, while adding the WBA strap to his collection. The unbeaten two-division champ previously held the WBC junior bantamweight title in 2022 before he dropped back down to flyweight, where he won two belts in 2024.
A triumphant return to the 115lbs division saw Rodriguez dethrone long-reigning lineal and WBC champ Juan Francisco Estrada last June 29 in Phoenix. The win took place in the same venue (Footprint Center, now Mortgage Matchup Center) where Rodriguez claimed his first title.
Stoppage victories over Pedro Guevara and Phumelela Cafu were since added to his already brilliant run. His 10th-round knockout of Cafu saw Rodriguez pick up the WBO belt and immediately move into his second straight unification bout.
It meant missing out on being in the hospital room alongside his longtime girlfriend as she gave birth to their second child. He was able to witness the miracle via FaceTime, though still a reminder of the measures he had to take to further his incredible boxing journey.
“I missed the birth of my son,” Rodriguez said. “It was a sacrifice I had to make for this fight. Years down the line, he will look at this moment and hopefully understand.”
Rodriguez-Martinez served as part of a DAZN pay-per-view, topped by the David Benavidez-Anthony Yarde WBC 175lbs title fight.
