Notebook: 'Bam' agenda: unify vs. Cafu, then Martinez, wants Inoue
Berlanga humble after KO loss to Sheeraz; Katie Taylor on future; Netflix numbers for fight; Campbell Hatton retires; Quick hits; Show & tell
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Lineal/WBC junior bantamweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez was in the later stages of training camp for his upcoming unification fight with WBO titleholder Phumelele Cafu when he got word that if he wins he will get a chance for a three-belt unification fight against WBA titleholder Fernando “Puma” Martinez.
Turki Alalshikh announced last week that the bout would be on a Riyadh Season card on Nov. 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contingent on Rodriguez beating Cafu.
But for Rodriguez, who is making his second defense, it’s first things first — the assignment against Cafu, which will headline a Matchroom Boxing card on Saturday (DAZN, 7 p.m. ET) at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, which amounts to a home fight for San Antonio’s Rodriguez.
“Ideally, I would like the Martinez fight,” Rodriguez told Fight Freaks Unite. “I’m 100 percent focused on Cafu, so everything plays out well, we’ll talk about it after that.”
Rodriguez, who hopes to eventually fight Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue, the undisputed junior featherweight champion — more on that later — thought he might be in a unification bout with Martinez on Saturday instead of with Cafu.
