IBF flyweight champion Sunny Edwards weighed in at 111.6 lbs, and WBO champ Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez came in at 111.6 lbs on Friday, the weigh-in for their headliner unification fight at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The event will be on DAZN.
The two champions had a long face-off after weighing in, but unlike yesterday, they weren’t talking to one another.
Sunny (20-0, 4 KOs) likely felt that he’d done enough during the final press conference in getting the 23-year-old ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (18-0, 11 KOs) upset with his comments, so he held off today.
It would have been a waste of energy because Sunny has already said enough to silence WBO champion Rodriguez.
If Bam is angry about the verbal tongue-lashing Sunny handed out yesterday, he will be looking to take his head off come Saturday night. It was almost cruel how Sunny dished it out against an opponent who couldn’t fight back verbally. Sunny scored a knockout, and it was disturbing to watch.
Sunny will need to back up his tough talk, and that’s not going to be easy because Bam is a lot better fighter than the guys he’s been facing during his seven-year professional career.
Weights:
Jesse Rodriguez 111.6 vs. Sunny Edwards 111.6
Murodjon Akhmadaliev 121.6 vs. Kevin Gonzalez (121
Galal Yafai 111.8 vs. Rocco Santomauro 111.4
Peter McGrail 121.6 vs. Ja’Rico O’Quinn 122
Arturo Cardenas 123.4 vs. Carlos Mujica 122
Junaid Bostan 155.2 vs. Gordie Russ II (155.2
Albert Gonzalez (127.2 vs. Alexis Molina 126.2
Joe McGrail 125.8 vs. Edgar Ortiz Jr. 123
Will Sunny dominate?
“I believe Sunny knows what he’s doing at all times in the ring. He sets traps and leads his opponents in. I believe he won’t be in there for Bam. He’s too clever for that. He’ll be out of the way. He’ll be making him miss, making him reach, making him fall over his front foot, and making him get an awkward night’s work in there,” said Charlie Edwards to Matchroom Boxing about his brother, Sunny.
“I believe the Sunny that beat the Moruti Mthalane [in 2021] will be the same Sunny in there with a similar type of performance against Bam, and he will make it an easy night’s work for himself in there, and he won’t take them risks.”
Charlie Edwards believes Sunny will be able to outbox Bam, disarm his power, and win easily. He’s going to have to stay away from Bam because he’ll get hit with some big shots, which could impress the judges more than his pitty-pat shots.
“100%, he’s got power. He hits hard,” said Charlie about Sunny. “If you stand there with him and he plans his feet, he hits hard. So it’s if he chooses to. In a fight like this, why take risks?
“You’re in the boxing game, and one punch can change the fight. So, don’t take the risks and don’t give him the opportunity. Bam will want Sunny to stand there and plant his feet so he can create the angles and let his punches go.
“You don’t want to play to somebody’s strengths. You bring out their weaknesses, and Bam fighting over his front foot, chasing the fight, is going to be one of his weaknesses and one of Sunny’s strengths, and he’s going to play to that.”
It would be foolish for Sunny to stand in front of Bam, trying to outpunch him because it would require him to take a lot of hard punches in the process. That would be fine if Sunny had enough power to make the risk worthwhile, but he’s better off fighting smart, hitting & running all night long.
“Sunny gets under everyone’s skin. That’s what he does. He’s the King of that,” said Charlie. “Yeah, I can see he has rattled Bam a little bit. You could see that Bam bit back a little bit yesterday. Could that affect Bam in a bad way? Most definitely. Could it affect him more in a good way? Most definitely, too.
“We ain’t going to know and ain’t going to find out until Saturday night. Listen, it’s the best against the best. They know this boxing game inside out. They’re aware of it, and they’ve seen it done before with these mind games, and on Saturday night, this is the only way we’re going to find out,” said Charlie.
