Jesse Rodriguez 'Very Close' to Sealing Juan Francisco Estrada Fight
Mar 11, 2024 • 1:17 PM ET
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has found that the best way to ensure he’ll fight at maximum level is to know he’s in tough versus an elite opponent.
The philosophy worked well in pushing him to defeat the likes of Sunny Edwards, Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
And now Rodriguez, 24, is banking on it to motivate him to defeat his most experienced opponent yet, Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada.
Rodriguez’s trainer, Robert Garcia, told BoxingScene Monday that Rodriguez “is very close” to finalizing a June 29 DAZN-streamed bout against Mexico’s two-division world champion Estrada (44-3, 38 KOs) at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
“From our side, it’s a done deal. We got everything we asked for,” Garcia told BoxingScene. “We’re just waiting on ‘Gallo,’ but from what I understand, they’ve already got their money part settled.”
Estrada, who’ll turn 34 on April 14, will defend the WBC super-flyweight belt he hasn’t defended since Dec. 3, 2022, when he repeated a narrow decision over Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, at the same Glendale arena.
“After our last fight [against Edwards], ‘Bam’ said he didn’t want to go back to 112, especially knowing [WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar] Martinez has canceled some fights,” Garcia said. “Moving up to 115 was more on his mind.”
And even though Rodriguez’s partner is giving birth to their first child next month, he green-lighted the Estrada bout because of the caliber of the opponent.
“That’s what motivates ‘Bam,’” Garcia said. “He doesn’t want to cut corners or take easy fights. Ideally, he’d like to wait a few months and truly enjoy the time with his new baby, but if it’s ‘Gallo,’ he’s ready to fight.
“He just wants big fights because he’s learned he doesn’t get motivated for the smaller fights. Look at what he did against Sunny Edwards. That was just a beautiful performance.”
In December, also in Glendale, Rodriguez rallied to batter and cut Edwards, forcing the Brit’s corner to stop the bout after the ninth round.
- Juan Francisco Estrada
- Sunny Edwards
- Jesse Rodriguez
- Estrada vs. Rodriguez
- Jesse Rodriguez Vs. Pedro Guevara
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
