Clinical. Bam Rodriguez delivered a jaw-dropping clinical performance over the longest-reigning lineal super flyweight champion, Juan Francisco Estrada, systematically breaking him down with relentless pressure and perfect combination shots. Rodriguez disposed of the Mexican legend in under seven rounds to become the new RING/lineal/WBC super flyweight champion of the world.

Chants at the Footprint Center in Phoenix began with support for the defending champion, with the crowd yelling “Gallo! Gallo! Gallo!” as the Sonorense utilized head movement to avoid Rodriguez’s stiff power jab, already making an appearance early in the first round. By the third, Bam had seemed to have collected all the data he needed, landing a left jab followed by his signature lateral movement before delivering a crisp right hook that hurt Estrada against the red corner.
The two-division champ used his own footwork to survive the rest of the round on unstable legs, but the momentum had shifted, and Bam’s last name began to echo in the arena. Like in "Nacho Libre," the yelling of his name must’ve caused extra motivation, as Rodriguez, who had now completely taken the role of the aggressor, delivered a beautiful uppercut followed by a left hand that floored Estrada with less than a minute left in the fourth round.
Pero más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo, and at the start of the sixth, the fight veteran timed Rodriguez coming in, landing a hard right hand that sent the young champion to the canvas for the first time in his career. Instead of panicking after the flash knockdown, Rodriguez smiled. Rather than holding or using his footwork to take the rest of the round off to ensure his legs were beneath him, Bam jumped right back into the action, ending the round on his terms.

In the last 10 seconds of the seventh, Bam said, “call an ambulance, but not for me!” delivering a perfectly placed left hook to the liver that sent Estrada rolling on the canvas in paralyzing pain.
Instead of immediately falling on the canvas himself, as he usually celebrates his victories, Bam smiled as Estrada failed to make the count and the ref waved off the action. At the time of the stoppage, the scorecards didn’t necessarily reflect Bam’s surgical performance, with Rodriguez leading on just one scorecard (58-54). Another scorecard was even, while the third judge (from Mexico) had Estrada ahead 57-56. Bombastic side-eye indeed.
Post-fight, Estrada expressed interest in activating his rematch clause, claiming he now knows what he must work on to beat Rodriguez. Bam, however, made it clear that his intention is to fully unify at 115, calling for the winner of the July 7 Kazuto Ioka-Puma Martinez WBA/IBF unification bout, dismissing Naoya Inoue as a fantasy matchup.

After becoming the youngest champion in the world in the same arena in 2022, Bam now crowns himself as the new lineal champ, beating the man who beat the man, in a way no other man had beaten him before.
留言