By Shaun Brown THERE are fights worth setting a reminder to watch, and then there are fights worth counting down the days. When Juan Francisco Estrada vs Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez was officially announced on March 28, there were 93 days to go. Tonight, the waiting is over.
The excitement for this super-flyweight clash – which sees Estrada’s WBC title at stake – comes from a belief that the fighting styles of both men will light a spark and explode into a ‘fight of the year’ contender. Both men can do a bit of everything, but in the case of Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs), he can look spectacular as a result. The 24-year-old has taken just two years to create a legacy that contains victories over Carlos Cuadras, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Sunny Edwards.
The first two may have been fighting at the wrong end of their careers, but Rodriguez’s showing against Edwards proved that in a 50-50 fight, the difference was, in fact, widely in his favour. Rodriguez could potentially be a nightmare for his Mexican opponent on June 29. Punches from angles, turning his opponent, and then throwing in blistering combinations could be too much for ‘Gallo’ to handle at 34 years old and in his 48 th fight.
Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) will also need to cope with a noisy pro-Rodriguez crowd at the Footprint Centre in Phoenix – the site of Bam’s breakout victory against Cuadras – and handle 18 months away from the ring. Estrada doesn’t see it as inactivity, however, as he discussed in Mat.
