It promised to be a thriller, and so it proved at the Footprint Centre in Phoenix, Arizona, as Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez regained the WBC super flyweight title with a breathless seventh round knockout of Juan Francisco Estrada where he had to get off the deck during the contest.
Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) dropped and handily outscored former Estrada foe Carlos Cuadras to originally win this belt in 2022, and he defended twice, before dropping back down in weight to take IBF and WBO titles at flyweight. Rodriguez was last seen last December taking a masterful ninth round retirement win against Sunny Edwards.
Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) came into this one as a multiple-weight world champion, and he was last out last December, winning a trilogy match against Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez via majority decision. That won him the vacant WBC super flyweight title that he brought to the ring here.
In the opener, Rodriguez warmed to his task early, landing combinations in what was a tactical session. The footwork of Rodriguez was causing Estrada a problem, and that allowed him to score with several unanswered shots in round three that Estrada was struggling to find an answer for.
Rodriguez made the breakthrough in the fourth, as a scintillating three-punch combination dropped the Mexican. Estrada survived the count, but was wobbled once more, surviving a round that he made a bright start in.
This led to Rodriguez going for the finish in the fifth, hitting his opponent once more with more combination shots as he dazzled, but his serene progress was halted a round later, as a combination from Estrada dumped the Texan on the canvas.
It was more of a flash knockdown though, and this re-focused Rodriguez, who closed the show in the seventh in some style. A savage left hook to the body crumpled on impact, and Estrada was writhing in agony, with the fight waved off mid-count.
BAM FOLDS ESTRADA WITH A BODY SHOT AND IT’S OVER IN 7 🤯🤯🤯🤯 @DAZNBoxing #EstradaBam pic.twitter.com/JgZPK1FoyU
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) June 30, 2024
Edwards bounces back despite cut
On the undercard, the previously mentioned Sunny Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs) returned, and took a points win via technical decision against Adrian Curiel (24-6-1, 5 KOs) at flyweight.
Edwards dominated the bout in the main, but an accidental headbutt in the sixth left him with a nasty wound on his forehead, and the fight went to the cards during round nine. The Englishman was declared the winner by scores of 90-82, 88-84 and 87-85.
Ali falls short against Mercado
Yamileth Mercado (24-3, 5 KOs) retained her WBC super bantamweight title for a seventh time, as she proved too seasoned and wily for Ramla Ali (9-2, 2 KOs), taking a points win in their meeting. Mercado ran out a handy winner by scores of 98-92, 98-93 and 97-93, although the fight was a lot closer than the scorecards suggested.
Further undercard recap:
Arturo Cardenas (14-0-1, 8 KOs) retained his WBC Continental Americas super bantamweight title, as he won a majority decision against Danny Barrios Flores (15-1, 5 KOs). A 95-95 card was overruled by tallies of 97-93 and 96-94 for Cardenas.
At bantamweight, Gabriel Muratalla (12-0, 6 KOs) took an eight round win on the cards against Carlos Fontes (23-4-1, 19 KOs). Scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 ensured Muratalla remained unbeaten.
Welterweight prospect Fabian Rojo (9-0, 7 KOs) blasted Daniel Gonzalez (5-2, 2 KOs) in two rounds, and at super lightweight, Leonardo Rubalcava (8-0, 3 KOs) took a wide points win against William Flenoy (3-4-1, 1 KO) over six rounds.
