Juan Francisco Estrada weighed in at 115 lbs at the super flyweight limit, and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez came in at 115 pounds during Friday’s weigh-in for their headliner, live on DAZN, this Saturday, June 29th at the Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Estrada’s Return
Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) will return to the ring from a nice two-year absence to defend his WBC super flyweight title against favorite ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) in the main event.
‘Bam’ Rodriguez looked better at the weigh-in today, appearing less drawn compared to thie 34-year-old Estrada, who had the look of someone who had struggled to make weight.
What most boxing fans want to know is whether the 34-year-old Estrada has enough left in the tank to defeat the much younger fighter.
It’s a tough one for Estrada to be coming back after two years out of the ring, and he would have been better off taking a tune-up rather than jumping straight into a hard fight against one of the best fighters in the super flyweight division.
In the chief support, flyweights Sunny Edwards and Adrian Curiel both weighed 112 lbs for their 12-round fight. The former IBF flyweight champion Edwards (20-1, 5 KOs) was stopped in his previous fight against ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. Curiel (24-5-1, 5 KOs) was knocked out in his last fight as well.
Expert Predictions
“He did beat the guys that Bam beat in their absolute prime,” said Sergio Mora to DAZN Boxing about Juan Francisco Estrada beating two of the same guys Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez did but in the prime of their careers. “Estrada beat all these guys, even the ones he lost against. He came back and [avenged] those [losses]. So, he fought Cuadras at his absolute monstrous best.
“He fought Chocolatito. He beat these guys like Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. These are the guys that gave everyone trouble. He knocked out guys like Chocolatito. Estrada was able to box circles around them and then sit down and fight when he can do it.
“So, he can box, he can fight, and he can have the experience. He can muster up the greatness in one last performance. He can surely do it against a 24-year-old young champion,” said Mora. “I thought long and hard, and I got to go with ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. I love the momentum.”
“I’m taking ‘Bam’ Rodriguez as well, but I’m taking ‘Bam’ by knockout,” said Chris Mannix. “He went into that fight against Sunny Edwards his last time out with a recently recovered jaw injury. He told us this week that he had a collarbone injury as well that he was bouncing back from.
“He’s coming into this fight completely healthy. He’s coming into this fight with a lot of motivation. I think ‘Bam’ Rodriguez by late-round stoppage against Juan Francisco Estrada. In boxing, anything can happen,” said Mannix.
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