WBC super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 29 KOs) and undefeated phenom Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) are close to having a deal done for this summer on June 29th in Glendale, Arizona. The fight is expected to be shown live on DAZN.
Estrada’s Ring Rust a Concern
It’s been two years since Juan Francisco Estrada last saw action in 2022, and the layoff could make it difficult for him to hold onto his WBC 115-ln title against the 24-year-old ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, who is fighting at a higher level than the aging 16-year pro.
There had been talk of the 33-year-old Estrada taking a tune-up, which would have made a lot of sense to get him ready for this level of fight, but that’s not happening. He’ll be going straight into the match against Bam and must just hope for the best.
Estrada has looked horribly poor in his last three fights against Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez x 2 and Ari Cortes. He deserved to lose two of those contests, but he was given questionable wins that have kept his career going a little longer.
It will be difficult for Estrada to count on the judges bailing him out against Bam Rodriguez because he has the kind of talent and power that takes them out of the equation entirely.
Bam looked like a million bucks when he stopped IBF flyweight champion Sunny Edwards in nine rounds last December. The only reason the fight lasted that long was that the British fighter was running around the ring, looking to survive.
A Step Up in Competition for ‘Bam’? Nah
Technically, this is a step up in competition for the 24-year-old Bam Rodriguez, but not really. His last four opponents have been arguably better than what’s left of aging Juan Francisco Estrada, with his wins over these excellent fighters:
Sunny Edwards
Cristian Gonzalez
Israel Gonzalez
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
Carlos Cuadras
Estrada still has a lot of skills and will try every trick in the book to keep from getting beaten up by Bam Rodriguez. Still, he’s old now, and his last three fights have shown that Estrada is not the fighter that gave prime Roman Gonzalez problems in 2012. He’s lost too much from his game and is now just hanging on, likely for the paydays, but it could end on June 29th against the young talent Bam.