PHOENIX – Eddie Hearn knew he struck gold when his Matchroom Boxing outfit secured the talents of Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.
Somehow, the supremely gifted 22-year-old southpaw has managed to surpass expectations barely a week into their relationship.
Of course, that comes with voluntarily agreeing to take—and impressively win—a title fight two divisions above your desired weight division on just six days’ notice. Such was the case this past Saturday, as San Antonio’s Rodriguez (15-0, 10KOs) outclassed and outpointed former titlist Carlos Cuadras (39-5-1, 27KOs) to win the vacant WBC junior bantamweight in their DAZN main event from Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
“He’s really good—really good,” Hearn told BoxingScene.com after the fight. “To come through tonight and say that he might be a favorite against (lineal/WBA “Super” junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco) Estrada who’s a pound-for-pound top fighter, that’s pretty impressive. No need for him to slow down. I feel he can beat anybody right now.”
Rodriguez was previously aiming to win his first major title at junior flyweight, though was originally due to fight for a regional flyweight title on Saturday’s card. He got the call to fight in the main event after Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (50-5-1, 43KOs) fell ill a few days after arriving in Phoenix, having to withdraw from the planned rematch with Cuadras.
The decision to take the fight—even at a higher weight and against a veteran former champ such as Cuadras—was a no-brainer for Rodriguez, and music to the ears of Matchroom Boxing who’d only signed the blue-chip talent just a few days prior. The end result was Rodriguez becoming the first fighter born in the 2000s to win a major title—the first of likely many to come spanning several weight divisions.
“We signed him last week,” noted Hearn. “I’d love to claim we set the whole thing up. But he’s ready to fight anyone at 115, at flyweight or light flyweight (108-pounds).
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
