Melina Pizano / MatchroomFRISCO, Texas – Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez truly means it when he says he’s prepared to face any opponent they put in front of him.
The unbeaten two-division unified champ is set to next face WBA 115lbs titlist Fernando ‘Pumita’ Martinez as part of the November 22 show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight was confirmed by boxing financier Turki Alalshikh two weeks ahead of Rodriguez’s already scheduled WBC/WBO unification bout with Phumelele Cafu.
Pressed with a ‘take-it-or-leave-it scenario,’ Rodriguez, 22-0 (15 KOs), and his side immediately agreed to the fight. In fact, they also agreed to the first offered option –the reigning lineal, WBC and IBF bantamweight king Junto Nakatani, 31-0 (24 KOs).
“We were aware,” Hearn confirmed to BoxingScene and other reporters of the way Rodriguez-Martinez would be announced. “Turki has a way of moving very quickly. When he offered us the fight with Nakatani at first, he said he needed to know that evening, not in three or four days. Unfortunately, that meant we had to make a call to Robert to talk to Bam during training camp.
“Normally, the answer from a trainer or manager in this situation would be, “Yeah, we’re up for it. But let’s leave it until such and such time. Unfortunately, Turki needed an answer then, So, they accepted the fight. Nakatani [via Teiken Promotions] elected to not take the fight. So, [Riyadh Season] offered us Puma Martinez and Bam immediately said yes.”
Rodriguez took care of business, as he stopped Cafu, 11-1-3 (8 KOs), via tenth-round knockout atop Saturday’s DAZN show from The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
In a true testament to all of their focus being placed on Cafu, neither Rodriguez nor anyone from his team or the Matchroom staff even mentioned Martinez’s name during fight week.
“We never agreed that the fight was going to be announced,” noted Robert Garcia, Rodriguez’s career-long head trainer and manager. “We had to take care of business with Cafu. If we can’t get past Cafu, there is no fight in November. We were not on board with making that announcement when they did.”
Nakatani has yet to schedule his next fight - which would be the third of 2025, assuming he fights at least once more this year to match his 2024 pace.
The unbeaten three-division titlist is a leading Fighter of the Year candidate, on the strength of two knockout wins over unbeaten opposition. He obliterated David Cuellar inside of three rounds this past February 24 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The win was followed by Nakatani’s biggest feat to date, a sixth-round stoppage of undefeated IBF titleholder Ryosuke Nishida to unify two bantamweight titles on June 8 at nearby Ariake Colosseum.
Nakatani, 27, is 10-0 (9 KOs) in title fights spanning three weight divisions. The unbeaten southpaw from Sagamihara, Japan has knocked out each of his five opponents at bantamweight, all in title fights. His team has aggressively pushed for a super fight with reigning undisputed junior featherweight champ Naoya Inoue, 30-0 (27 KOs), which seems possible for 2026.
Whatever is the next move for Nakatani, it will be a well-thought plan – and not randomly turning down the chance to face a fellow pound-for-pound entrant.
“Nakatani’s team was okay with the fight,” explained Robert Garcia, Rodriguez’s career-long manager and trainer. “I have a text message from Mr. Honda telling me that [Teiken] did not want the fight. I do not want to say that Nakatani rejected the fight. I talked to his team, his trainer Rudy Hernandez - we’re very good friends.
“So, I don’t want to say that Nakatani rejected the fight. I think it was more Mr. Honda didn’t want the fight between his two fighters, same with “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Bam as far as his two fighters facing each other.”
Nevertheless, it was on to the next one for Rodriguez, who habitually says “yes” to any fight - at or near his weight class - that he is offered.
That mentality would better explain his current reaction to the assignment. It’s hardly any different to when he faced and beat Juan Francisco Estrada to reclaim his WBC 115lbs title last June, or unbeaten Sunny Edwards to unify two belts at flyweight in his previous fight.
“It’s honestly no big deal,” Rodriguez said of facing Martinez. “We had to get this one out the way in order to get to that one, otherwise I wouldn’t even be moving on to November. I did what I had to do [on Saturday].
“I was always focused on this fight. I didn’t really care about [the next one] until after I got through this. We had to get past this otherwise there is no fight in November. So, I had to put all my energy into this fight, to get the job done.”
He did at least offer a piece of advice to his next ring rival.
“Just be ready,” vowed Rodriguez. “I know he was watching… or he will be watching the highlights.
“The only thing I have to tell him is to be ready.”
