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San Antonio Has A Superstar – ‘Bam’ Rodriguez Destroys Sor Rungvisai in Eight

Written by Shaun Brown on 26th June 2022.

Jesse Rodriguez

Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (16-0, 11 KOs) produced one of the performances of 2022 beating Carlos Cuadras in February. The 22-year-old somehow followed it up and laid a beating on Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in San Antonio last night.

Without question we are looking at a future legend of the sport. There appears to be nothing this young man can’t do. His eighth-round stoppage over the two-time world champion was a statement because even at 35 no-one does that to the Thai hardman.

It was the first defence of his WBC Super Flyweight title for Rodriguez, and his second fight at 115lbs. And on paper he couldn’t have asked for much tougher.

The first half of the first round showed potentially what Rodriguez had on his hands but when both men exchanged heavy leather in the centre of the ring after 100 seconds in Rungvisai (50-6-1, 43 KOs) knew what he had to overcome.

The challenger, so obviously slower on his feet, looked for the power that rocked the hearts of Chocolatito Gonzalez fans five years ago. Rodriguez covered up early doors though and his own speed and footwork gave him the get out of jail free card if he needed it.

The champion uncorked a straight left hand down the pipe in round two and began to find angles that would annoy and pick away at the veteran.

Rungvisai was never going to go away but he had to match the pace and output of Rodriguez who was choosing to plant his feet at the right time and let his hands go. Robert Garcia’s young starlet had so obviously felt the respected power of Rungvisai and decided to beat him in that department too.

Round five was a showcase for the Rodriguez jab, three minutes that should be shown to aspiring pugilists looking to create their own great fundamentals.

The home favourite was wowing everyone in the Tech Port Arena and promoter Eddie Hearn must have had looked like the cat that got the cream. The Matchroom boss has a jewel in his hands. At 22 he should be a rough diamond but isn’t. He is already glowing and sparkling on some of the biggest stages.

In round seven ‘Bam’ sent an overhand left that caused Rungvisai to touch down via a slip. It wasn’t ruled a knockdown, but it was the moment many would have believed that the youngster was actually going to stop the 13-year senior of the two.

Rodriguez started Round 8 as if he had a point to prove. A rapid one-two followed by an uppercut dazzled those watching. This was a master craftsman. A performance that Vasiliy Lomachenko would be proud of.

A right-hand whipped at Rungvisai, the countdown was on. The Thai and his challenge sunk on the ropes. It was relentless from Rodriguez who let his lightning hands go once again. Rungvisai had been beaten up but was saved by the referee from further wickedness and violence with over a minute to go.

The champion dropped to his knees and rolled over, an outpouring of emotion from the WBC Super Flyweight champion who had just produced something we will be talking about at the end of 2022 and beyond.

Watch the final moments courtesy of DAZN Boxing on Twitter:

After the fight promotor Eddie Hearn had this to say about Rodriguez:

“San Antonio has a superstar on their hands.”

“Fighters like this come around once in a generation. You are talking about some of the great fighters in Chocolatito, Juan Francisco Estrada – but can you say that Jesse wouldn’t beat them?”

Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs Ronny Rios

Despite injuring his left hand in the second round Murodjon Akhmadaliev (11-0, 8 KOs) proved to be a class above Ronny Rios as he retained his WBA and IBF Super Bantamweight world titles.

The 12th round stoppage put the full stop on a dominant performance that never looked like going any other way than in favour of the champion.

Akhmadaliev’s win now paves the way for a fantastic match-up against fellow unified champion Stephen Fulton Jr for the undisputed championship at 122lbs.

The speed, jab, and movement of Akhmadaliev were the foundations for a performance that looked like going to the scorecards until the Uzbeki went up another level to finish matters in the final round.

The 27-year-old’s body shots had Rios (33-4, 16 KOs) taking deep breaths and in trouble during round four. But in the final session a sickening left to the mid-section had Rios hurt and doubled over.

He never took a knee immediately which was an open invitation for Akhmadaliev to hit his challenger at will. Rios had showed his minerals throughout the fight and got back up. A long left rocked the 37-year-old who then ate successive meaty rights before referee Rafael Ramos intervened and called the fight off with just under a minute remaining.

Jessica McCaskill vs Alma Ibarra

Jessica McCaskill (12-2, 5 KOs) had little trouble retaining her Undisputed Welterweight crown against Alma Ibarra.

After the end of the third round Ibarra was in deep conversation with her corner and evidently unhappy, she refused to come out for the fourth round. Ibarra could be heard saying “No, no” and during a translation the Mexican told her team that she wanted to go home.

McCaskill’s power rocked Ibarra in the opening round. The number one welterweight forced Ibarra back and found little difficulty in landing her shots. It was repeated in the second round with the chin of the challenger far too high for a fighter of McCaskill’s calibre.

Ibarra gave it more of a go in the third and landed a big left of her own which annoyed the champion who wanted to fight fire with fire. The 37-year-old wanted a tear up, but Ibarra (10-2, 5 KOs) refused to give it and bailed out.

Afterwards McCaskill made it clear who she wanted next: Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Chantelle Cameron.