By Robert Segal: Eddie Hearn says WBC super flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez could fight the winner of the Dec. 3 trilogy between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.
It would be a big risk for 22-year-old Bam Rodriguez (17-0, 11 KOs) because he wasn’t impressive, outscoring veteran Israel Gonzalez (28-5-1, 11 KOs) by a much closer 12 than expected. round by unanimous decision in the main support fight last Saturday night on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin III in Las Vegas.
Chocolatito would probably take the brakes off Bam Rodriguez and hurt his career if that fight happened. If you are Bam’s manager, you have to keep him far, far away from Chocolatito because his performance against Israel Gonzalez showed that he is not in the same league as the talented fighter.
Bam Rodriguez seemed to get frustrated with Gonzalez’s ferocious body attack, who was giving him pure hell.
In the end, Bam Rodríguez repeatedly hit González with low blows and collided with him, risking disqualification. Bam was deducted a point in the eighth round for low blows, but he continued to do so.
It can be argued that the referee, Kenny Bayless, gave Bam Rodriguez a great break by not disqualifying him for low blows because perhaps he should have.
Two of the judges scored in favor of Bam Rodriguez, recalling some of the extravagant scorecards handed out for Canelo’s first fight against Golovkin in 2017.
Bam Rodriguez vs. Israel Gonzalez results:
118-109 – Rodriguez [judge Tim Cheatham]
117-110 – Rodriguez [judge Max Deluca]
114-113 – Rodriguez [judge Patricia Morse Jarman]
The most accurate score of the three was my Jarman’s 114-113, as Rodriguez seemed to narrowly win.
“It was a very tough fight tonight. Israel Gonzalez pushed Chocolatito all the way,” Eddie Hearn told Matchroom Boxing of Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez’s victory over Israel Gonzalez in the main support fight.
“He too [Israel Gonzalez] He had a great fight with Kal Yafai, who many thought might have given the thumbs up to that win.
“It was a good performance from Bam because there is a lot of pressure because of the hype around him. Sometimes when you’re in a fight like that, you can be a little flat.
“It took him a few rounds to get into it, but he finally got his groove,” Hearn continued of ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. “I thought González was fantastic. I thought Gonzalez won four rounds, but Bam was too solid, the movement was too good and the activity was too much in the closing stages of the fight.
“Possibly, sometimes you have to be a little bit careful about overtraining and over-fighting,” Hearn said when asked if Bam Rodriguez will fight Dec. 3. “He has had three good fights this year.
“December 3 is not that far away. You really have to decide if you do that or take a break and then come back in January or February.
“Yes, I think both are great fights for Jesse Rodriguez, and I think he has a great future ahead of him,” Hearn said when asked if Bam Rodriguez could fight the Dec. 3 trilogy winner between Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada.
