WBC super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada may need a miracle to hold onto his title against challenger Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez in this changing of the guard-level fight on DAZN this Saturday night, June 29th, at the Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona.
(Photo credit: Amanda Westcott/Matchroom)
Estrada Outgunned and Outmatched
The 34-year-old Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) is out-gunned in every category by the 24-year-old ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs). Estrada will suffer his fourth career defeat on Saturday without another controversial decision, like his last against Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez in December 2022.
‘Bam’ Rodriguez will likely take the judges out of the game on Saturday by beating up Estrada, either knocking him out or making the match so one-sided that a controversial decision is unlikely.
Estrada’s slim chances of winning would be slightly improved if he weren’t coming off a two-year layoff since his last match against Chocolatito. That time out of the ring hurts Estrada, as he’s not stayed active after consecutive lackluster fights against Gonzalez and Argi Cortes.
The World Boxing Council allowed Estrada to keep his WBC 115-lb title, but they should have stripped him due to his inactivity. He froze his title, making it impossible for the contenders in the top 15 to compete for the belt.
Estrada’s Track Record
“Bam looks markedly bigger than Estrada. He’s younger, he’s bigger, and he trains in a similar fashion with the old school mentality,” said boxing expert Chris Algieri to Probox TV, talking about Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez having the size advantage over WBC super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada going into their fight this Saturday night on June 29th on DAZN.
“There’s a lot of things stacked against Estrada. I’m not knocking Estrada at all. He’s an absolute legend. He’s never lost to anyone he’s ever fought [except for Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez]. He has three losses, but he beat them in rematches.”
For the record, Estrada lost to Chocolatito by a 12-round unanimous decision in their first fight on November 17, 2012. In their rematch in March 2021, Estrada beat Chocolatito by a 12-round split decision and defeated him by a controversial 12-round majority decision in their trilogy match in December 2022.
It’s fair to say that Estrada’s record against Chocolatito in their three fights is 1-2. Estrada fought as well as he could in those three fights, but Chocolatito Gonzalez was the better fighter overall.
Many fans think Chocolatito deserved the victory in the third fight with Estrada, as it wasn’t close. Chocolatito was levels above Estrada, who looked like a shell of the fighter he’d been in their first and second fights. That was the last time Estrada fought, so fans view him as having little chance of defeating ‘Bam’ Rodriguez this Saturday.
Estrada-Rodriguez: A Predictable Outcome
“[Estrada] isn’t used to losing. He’s got a young guy in front of him [Bam Rodriguez], who is going to be bigger, he’s going to be stronger, and he’s going to be younger. But experience, you can’t put objective numbers to it,” said Algieri about Estrada.
Estrada-Rodriguez should be exciting for as long as it lasts, but there’s only one winner in this fight: Bam Rodriguez. He’s been training with Chocolatito and likely has worked on his combination punching, which gave Estrada fits in his three fights with Gonzalez.
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