Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez labeled himself the “legend slayer” after he stopped Juan Francisco Estrada in June.
Since his breakout win in 2022 against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Rodriguez, 24, has also steamrolled through Carlos Cuadras and Sunny Edwards while picking up titles at 112 and 115 pounds.
Rodriguez, 20-0 (13 KOs), is BoxingScene’s No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter. He will look to defend his WBC super flyweight title on November 9 when he takes on the 42-4-1 (22 KOs) Pedro Guevara. Should the heavy favorite Rodriguez score the win at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on DAZN, he wants bigger fish to fry.
After three separate spirited sparring sessions totaling 24 rounds against Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Rodriguez now wants a real fight against the four-division champion he’s long admired.
“It can happen if I don’t get the unification fights at 115 pounds,” Rodriguez told BoxingScene. “A Chocolatito fight would interest the fight fans. It would probably have to be at 115 because I have the belt. So there is no reason to fight at 118 pounds for no belt. It has to make sense. If the numbers aren’t right, there really is no point.
“He’s mentioned he would like to fight me. The feeling is mutual. I would love to go in there and share the ring with a legend. I believe that it would be the fight of the year.”
Rodriguez has previously stated that he never thought a fight against Gonzalez would happen due to their mutual respect toward one another and their shared affiliation with Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda, the president of Teiken Promotions.
After losing two out of his last three fights to Estrada over the last three years, Gonzalez, 37, returned to his native Nicaragua in July and made his 118-pound debut to score a 10th-round TKO against Rober Barrera.
Before heading into the fight, Gonzalez was preparing Rodriguez for Estrada.
“That sparring was amazing,” said Rodriguez. “It was back and forth every round. Each sparring session was fireworks. The sparring was harder than some of the fights I’ve had.”
Another superstar the San Antonio-based southpaw slugger has his eyes on is Naoya Inoue, the current 122-pound king.
Rodriguez, trained and managed by Robert Garcia, was game when he was asked if he’d consider climbing up two weight classes to clash against the four-division champion Inoue.
“Yeah, of course, down the line, I think it could happen. It’s just a matter of time before it happens,” said Rodriguez.
“That’s something we have to discuss with the team. It’s a risky fight to move up two weight classes against a natural 122-pounder. We would have to talk about it.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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