WBC super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada and challenger Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez both weighed in at 115 pounds on Friday at the weigh-in for Saturday’s fight at the Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) looked thin and drawn on the stage, indicating that he’d taken off a lot of weight to make the 115-lb limit for his title defense against the 24-year-old ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs).
It’s not surprising that Estrada, 34, appeared drained because he’s been inactive for two years and has not had to train for fights to keep his weight down. It’ll be interesting to see if Estrada’s work to get down to the 115-lb limit will affect his performance on Saturday night.
When Estrada is at his best, he’s almost impossible to beat. The 2021 version of Estrada that was beating everyone in front of him would be a nightmare for Bam Rodriguez, but we don’t know if that fighter exists anymore.
Co-Main Event: Edwards vs. Curiel
In the co-feature weights, former IBF flyweight champion Sunny Edwards (20-1, 5 KOs) and his opponent, former IBF light flyweight champion Adrian Curiel (24-5-1, 5 KOs) weighed in at 112 lbs. Both guys are coming off losses and need victories to bounce back.
“I think it’ll be because of my experience. I’ve had 47 fights, and I think that’ll be an important factor. I’m really confident with the way I prepared for this fight,” said Juan Francisco Estrada to Matchroom Boxing at the weigh-in today.
“We’re going to go for the knockout and try and win convincingly. That’s the plan.
“I talked to Estrada today, and there’s a calmness to him. There’s also a dismissiveness to him as well,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN Boxing, talking about Juan Francisco Estrada.
“He has watched the fights of Bam Rodriguez fighting Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. He was ringside for Bam’s fight against Sunny Edwards, and I got to tell you, he wasn’t all that impressed by most of them.
“He believes Bam is a good fighter, and he believes even at 34, he is a great fighter. That’s what we’re going to find out, probably early on because it is a long layoff. He is 34-years-old. He didn’t look that great in the second half of the fight against [Roman ‘Chocolatito] Gonzalez [in December 2022].”
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