Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez turned the primary man to knock out Juan Francisco Estrada, ending off Estrada within the seventh spherical to reclaim the WBC tremendous flyweight title. Rodriguez reclaimed the belt, which he held earlier than surrendering it to drop right down to 112 kilos, by knocking out Estrada, a future hall-of-famer that Bam says he grew up watching.
This one was an outstanding motion combat from the very begin, with hotly contested rounds that Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KO) arguably edged out via a good guard and sharp counters. Estrada (44-3, 28 KO) appeared sharp early, too, profitable his share of the exchanges and searching nearly as good as he has at any level within the later stage of his profession.
Issues began swinging in the direction of Bam halfway via the third spherical when he harm Estrada on a shot to the temple. He adopted that up by knocking Estrada down within the 4th, and had him staggered repeatedly within the fifth.
Estrada appeared able to go, and maybe Bam bought somewhat too keen, or else Estrada wasn’t as completely cooked as he appeared. Both approach, Estrada dug deep and scored a knockdown of his personal early within the sixth, placing Bam on the canvas with a flash shot.
Rodriguez rose rapidly and appeared undamaged, although he fought somewhat extra cautiously for the rest of the spherical. However, earlier than Estrada might construct on it, Bam turned up the strain once more, finally ending Estrada off with a crushing physique shot on the finish of the seventh spherical that folded Estrada in half and left him rolling round in agony.
In his post-fight interview, Rodriguez stated: “I bought dropped for the primary time – That was loopy!” He went on to name a possible 122 pound matchup towards Naoya Inoue a “fantasy combat,” since he’s barely been again at 115 kilos and has loads of work to do earlier than contemplating a soar as much as that weight.
When Estrada had his flip to make feedback within the ring afterwards, he referred to as for a rematch, saying he must field Bam higher, and desires one other likelihood to do it straight away. I don’t know what Estrada, or anybody else at or close to 115 kilos, can do towards a fighter on the extent Bam confirmed tonight, although.
It was a implausible efficiency from Bam, one of many nice younger stars of the game, a worthy and well-established pound-for-pound presence, and a dependable supply of thrilling leisure. This combat gave us a bounty of highlights, so take pleasure in all of them:
Sunny Edwards TD-9 Adrian Curiel
Sunny Edwards appeared sharp as ever, slipping, dodging, and countering a annoyed Adrian Curiel from begin to early end within the chief assist. Edwards (21-1, 4 KO) didn’t present any lingering points from his first profession loss final outing towards Bam Rodriguez, dancing and clowning Curiel earlier than even the 2nd spherical might finish.
Curiel (24-6-1, 5 KO) was simply too primary to catch Sunny, and Sunny spent the entire evening popping him with counter jabs or showboating in seeming disrespect for Curiel’s skill. The largest shot Curiel landed was together with his cranium, opening a depraved lower on Sunny’s brow on what was dominated an unintended conflict of heads late within the sixth.
It was a ugly lower on the brow that drew comparisons to Tim Tszyu’s lower towards Sebastian Fundora, and it began opening up via the eyebrow and down into the hole of Sunny’s proper eye. Two rounds after it opened, referee Mark Nelson had the lower evaluated by the physician, who referred to as issues to a halt simply after the ninth spherical formally started.
Edwards took the choice on unanimous playing cards, however the official scores of 90-82, 88-84, 87-85 had been very questionable. It’s robust to see the place Curiel made an argument for a single spherical, a lot much less the three he bought on the tightest official scorecard.
Yamileth Mercado UD-10 Ramla Ali
Yamileth Mercado retains the WBC title she’s held for over 4 and a half years with a large resolution victory over Ramla Ali. Mercado (24-3, 5 KO) didn’t precisely dominate, however she did sufficient to pile up rounds with out letting Ali get snug.
Ali (9-2, 2 KO) by no means appeared significantly good tonight, and her physique language in the course of the watch for an official announcement made it apparent she didn’t imagine she’d achieved sufficient to win the combat. The judges agreed, giving Mercado the victory on official scores of 98-92, 98-93, and 97-93.
Arturo Cardenas MD-10 Danny Barrios
Wonderful motion within the opener, the place Danny Barrios bought off to a powerful begin. Arturo Cardenas appeared to determine one thing out midway via, although, and began punishing him with superior energy. Cardenas (14-0-1, 8 KO) did injury to the physique all through, and the buildup had Barrios in retreat for a lot of the latter half.
The injury was severe sufficient that Barrios (15-1, 5 KO) spent an excellent a part of the ninth spherical working from distance and evading, prompting some booing and taunting by Cardenas. It took a number of the pleasure off the top of the combat, nevertheless it was sufficient to earn Barrios the ultimate two rounds on Wil Esco’s unofficial scorecard.
Sadly, BLH unofficial playing cards don’t matter, and the judges had it for Cardenas on official scores of 95-95, 97-93, and 96-94. Commentary didn’t assume very a lot of the 7-3 Cardenas card, however the majority resolution nonetheless goes down as the primary skilled loss for Barrios.
