Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez says his fight with Juan Francisco Estrada isn’t personal – but he wants to prove ‘El Gallo’ wrong for his past comments ahead of their blockbuster clash for Estrada’s WBC super flyweight titles at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona this Saturday on DAZN.
“This is a very important fight for me,” said BAM. “When I had that WBC belt before, he said a few things discrediting my wins against Cuadras and Rungvisai, so that on top of fighting for his world title makes it as big as can be. I just know I’m going to have my hand raised, by KO or on points.
“I wouldn’t call it personal to the point where I am mad about what he said, but he I do want to prove him wrong and show him that I am the truth, the real deal, and on Saturday, he’s going to see.
“Growing up I was still an amateur watching his fights against Chocolatito, Rungvisai and Cuadras, so to share the ring with him is an honor, but that all goes out of the window on Saturday. He’s trying to take my ‘0’ and I’m not going to let that happen.
In my opinion, Estrada’s best achievement was the first fight against a prime Roman Gonzalez, where he was forced to go down in weight. Estrada was already a flyweight, and the fight was for the Jr. Flyweight title; he lost, but what a close and memorable one it was.
That Estrada could have been the betting favourite in this fight, but now he will rely on his experience and some flashes of the past only, against an emerging force that could send him into retirement.