Now comes the hard part for Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
The junior bantamweight titleholder from San Antonio wasn’t widely known when he stunned the boxing world by outpointing Carlos Cuadras and stopping Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in successive fights this year.
Now Rodriguez is where Cuadras and Sor Rungvisai were, at the top of the 115-pound division. And like them, he now has a target on his back.
That new dynamic begins on the Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin undercard Saturday in Las Vegas, where he’ll defend his belt against Israel Gonzalez.
“Of course, being a world champion is what everyone wants,” Rodriguez told Boxing Junkie. “… They want to take what I have. I can’t let that happen.”
The rapid ascension of Rodriguez (16-0, 11 KOs) was no fluke, although luck played a role in getting the fight with Cuadras.
Sor Rungvisai was scheduled to face Cuadras in a rematch of their 2014 fight but the Thai boxer had to pull out because of illness. Rodriguez agreed to step in on a week’s notice, which seemed suicidal given Cuadras’ track record.
Surprise surprise. Cuadras was competitive until he went down in Round 3, after which Rodriguez – too quick and slick for the Mexican – took over the fight and won by a wide decision to become the WBC’s secondary titleholder. (Juan Francisco Estrada is the “franchise” champion.)
Next up was former beltholder Sor Rungvisai, the bruising two-time conqueror of the great Roman Gonzalez. Too much for a 22-year-old upstart like Rodriguez, right? Wrong.
“Bam” not only beat Sor Rungvisai, he beat him up and ultimately knocked him out in the eighth round in June at Tech Port Center + Arena in San Antonio. No one had stopped Sor Rungvisai since his second pro fight, back in 2009.
“That was very special,” Rodriguez said of the victory. “People were saying on social media that Sor Rungvisai was too strong for me, that I was going to get knocked out. For me to be the one who stopped him shut everybody up, shut up the doubters. So it was special.
“And it was in my hometown. So it couldn’t have been better.”
Rodriguez didn’t celebrate long. He quickly got back into the gym to begin preparation for his next fight, which turned out to be the capable Gonzalez (28-4-1, 11 KOs).
Indeed, it seems there’s no chance that he’ll succumb to complacency. His goal wasn’t simply to become a world champion; he wanted to stay one.
He wouldn’t even talk about what opponents might lie beyond Gonzalez, although Estrada and Gonzalez are the biggest prizes in the division. His focus is set squarely on the task at hand.
“I’ve worked so hard for this fight,” he said. “I’ve worked just as hard for this fight, maybe harder. I feel better for this fight than I did for those two fights (Cuadras and Sor Rungvisai). I think my performance will be better than the last two fights.
“… My ultimately goal is to be a legend. When I retire I want people to look back and remember me, like Tyson and Ali, those legends.”
He’s off to a good start.
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