'Bam' knocks out Estrada in brilliant, pound-for-pound performance
Young star topples veteran to win lineal/WBC 115 title; Edwards shakes off loss but suffers terrible cut in technical decision over Curiel
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Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez had already won world titles at junior bantamweight and flyweight, where he unified belts, and beaten a series of quality opponents.
But the young star took it to another level with a wicked seventh-round body-shot knockout of lock Hall of Famer Juan Francisco Estrada to win the lineal and WBC junior bantamweight titles in the main event of the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN on Saturday night before a crowd of about 8,000 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Other than Rodriguez suffering a flash knockdown in the sixth round — the first time he had ever been dropped in his career — he otherwise dominated an action-packed fight of the year contender that likely will mean a fall rematch as Estrada indicated after the fight that he will exercise his immediate rematch right.
“It was a tough fight,” Rodriguez said. “I got dropped for the first time. That was crazy. I just got caught with a punch and next thing you know I’m on the floor, but I always wanted to experience that. I know it’s bad but I always pictured myself in a fight like this and to be in the ring with ‘Gallo,’ a legend, and to take his belts makes it that much better.”
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