Jesse “Bam” Rodríguez has conquered the world boxing scene this year and feels his hard work is paying off as he has his next WBC junior bantamweight title defense in the coveted co-feature position on the Canelo Alvarez- Gennady Golovkin III.
Rodriguez will defend the 115-pound belt for the second time when he takes on Israel Gonzalez on Saturday (DAZN PPV and PPV.com, 8 pm ET) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
He has certainly earned the spot given his meteoric rise over the past seven months.
The 22-year-old Rodriguez (16-0, 11 KOs) became boxing’s youngest active champion when he won the vacant title on February 5 by clear decision against former champion Carlos Cuadras, whom he defeated in the third round, then to ascend. weight and stepping in to replace the ailing Srisaket Sor Rungvisai six days early.
Rodriguez then made his first defense in a homecoming fight in San Antonio on June 25 against two-time champion Sor Rungvisai, whom he knocked down in the seventh round before knocking him out in the eighth round in an extremely impressive performance.
“I’m right where I need to be,” said Rodriguez, trained by Robert Garcia. “It’s just the beginning and the sky is the limit for me. I can’t tell you how far I can go because I don’t know how to stop. I want to be one of those fighters that 20 years from now people say, ‘Remember ‘Bam’ Rodriguez? He was a bad guy. One of those legends.
“I feel like I’m getting the recognition I deserve, and Saturday is the perfect platform to show everyone that I’m the real deal.”
The fight will be Rodriguez’s third in seven months and he knows that appearing on a card headlined by the highly anticipated third fight between Alvarez and Golovkin, both future Hall of Famers, for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight championship is a big problem.
“I don’t feel pressure because I feel like I was born for this,” Rodríguez said. “I belong to these great stages. It is where I feel comfortable. As a headliner in San Antonio (and later) co-star of Canelo-GGG III, this is where I want to be. It’s been part of the plan and it’s great to see it unfold. There is anticipation on me, all eyes are on me. I know I need to do my best, but that excites me.
“Canelo is the face of boxing, so to be the backdrop for that fight is amazing. A lot of fans are going to be able to see what I can do. I’m only 22 years old, so to be doing the things I’m doing, beating Carlos and Rungvisai, two of the four kings at (115lbs), I never look back and feel like I need to appreciate what I do, but I do. I minimize what I do because I’m a humble guy.”
Gonzalez (28-4-1, 11 KOs), 25, of Mexico, is getting his fourth shot at a junior bantamweight title.
In his previous three tries, Jerwin Ancajas stopped him in the 10th round in 2018, lost a majority decision to Kal Yafai later in 2018, and lost a lopsided unanimous decision to Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in 2020. Since then, he is 3-0. -1.
