What became clear on Saturday night is that boxing has found a new marquee fighter in Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the repeat junior bantamweight champion. He smiled through a knockdown and then made his veteran-champion opponent suffer with a devastating finishing body shot.
“He has the mindset of a fighter. He wants all the smoke. This kid’s going to be around for a long time. I’m closing my eyes and thinking about when Bam Rodriguez will be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, which will be in a couple years. He’s got the footwork, the defence, the chin and heart. He hits the head and body,” said analyst Chris Algieri in media reports.
