You could say at present, boxing is again a hot commodity. The heavyweight division has an undisputed champion for the first time in over 20 years.
We have several Hall of Fame calibre fighters in the conversation to be the No1 p4p boxer and several in the debate to be the face of boxing.
Amid this, one young, explosive boxer/puncher has emerged with a resume already as good as his potential and boxing ability.
At just 24, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is already a two-weight world champion. He was previously the unified flyweight champion, holding the WBO & IBF titles. But recently, he moved back up the super flyweight to become a two-time WBC super flyweight champion.
Undefeated in his 20 professional bouts, he has stopped 13 of those opponents and has already beaten four world champions, including two minimum weight boxing legends and multiple world title holders in Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Juan Francisco Estrada.
What makes Rodriguez so special is at the tender age of 24, he has a maturity in his boxing ability to be versatile, no matter the opponent. He has a devastating left hook that can take out anyone. He can brawl and sit in the pocket to tough it out with the best of them.
If he needs to, he can move, use his footwork and slick boxing to cut off the ring, beat his opponent to the punch and chop them down at will. Lastly, he has a chin and can take a punch. Rodriguez is tough, strong, powerful, intelligent, slick, brutal and versatile.
Just to put things into perspective, of today’s top fighters at 24, only Devin Haney, who became the youngest undisputed champion at 24, better his record at that age.
The only other fighter who could come close is Canelo. He was a unified middleweight title holder and beat five world champions. However, by that time, he had already lost to Floyd Mayweather, which many say is what made him better.
At 24, Gervonta Davis claimed three belts at two weights, all at different times, beating three world champions. Naoye Inoue had 15 fights and was a world champion at two different weights, defeating two world champions.
The likes of Tyson Fury and Terrance Crawford had not yet won a world title. Dmitry Bivol had one professional fight, whereas Artur Beterbiev and Oleksandr Usyk had not had a professional fight yet.
The best thing about all this is that, regardless of his incredible accolades at such a young age, there is much more to come from Rodriguez. Inevitably, moving up is a realistic option. With that will come super fights, and dare I say, a possible showdown with Inoue.
In the past, minimum-weight fighters did not get as much recognition and limelight as the heavier or marquee weights classes. But with Lomachenko, Davis, Inoue and now Jesse Rodriguez, the limelight is shifting, and Rodriguez has everything to be a bonafide superstar in the sport.
