Eddie Hearn hopes to sign Bam-Martinez within two weeks
Mar 3, 2025 • 2:30 PM ET
Eddie Hearn is giving his attempts to make Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez-Fernando “Puma” Martinez another two weeks.
IBF junior bantamweight champion Rodriguez last boxed in November, scoring a third-round stoppage of Pedro Guevara in Philadelphia.
One of the finest fighters in the sport, he is now 21-0 (14 KOs). Martinez has the WBA title and is 17-0 (9 KOs).
“Bam, we’re talking to His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] about Bam against Puma Martinez,” Hearn told BoxingScene.
“That's the fight we want. I think it’s one of the best fights in the sport.”
Asked if the fight would be headed to Riyadh, Hearn replied: “No, it would be in America. If we can't get that made in the next two weeks, Bam will fight in May, and he’ll defend his titles.”
Before Guevara, Rodriguez proved a hit in Phoenix, and Hearn would not rule out taking Bam back to Footprint Center.
“Possibly,” he said. “I'd quite like to go back to San Antonio. It’s his hometown. But we really want the unification because I feel like that's the natural move.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
