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Trainer Robert Garcia supervised Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez's sparring session in Riverside, California, yesterday as the boxer prepares for his upcoming WBC super flyweight bout against Juan Francisco Estrada.
The Estrada-Rodriguez fight, scheduled for June 29 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, is one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the year. Rodriguez, hailing from Texas, boasts an undefeated record of 19-0 with 12 knockouts, while Estrada holds a record of 44-3 with 28 knockouts.
Despite Rodriguez's rising star, there are already talks linking him to a potential superfight in September against Japan's unified super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue at Wembley in London. However, Garcia is solely focused on the upcoming challenge with Estrada.
“Everything’s going well,” Garcia commented on Rodriguez's preparation.
“It [Estrada]’s a great challenge for Bam. Bam does what Bam wants. Bam told me ‘if it’s not Estrada, I’d rather wait a few months for a fight’.
He said he didn’t want to fight if it was not Estrada, so we got him the fight and Estrada’s a very experienced fighter, pound-for-pound, he’s a Mexican legend.
He might be the most talented Mexican in the world right now. I’m not saying the best, because we have guys like Canelo, but he might be the most talented at the moment.”
Estrada, at 34 years old, is highly respected in the boxing world. He turned pro in 2008 and in his last fight in December 2022, he defeated Roman Gonzalez via a majority decision, marking his second victory over the future Hall of Famer.
“It’s a great challenge,” Garcia stated regarding the upcoming fight with Estrada.
“But that’s what Bam likes. He likes those challenges. He doesn’t want to hold back, fighting guys that nobody knows, that don’t mean anything for him. He wants to fight the best.”
While there is speculation about a potential fight with Inoue, Garcia emphasized that their focus remains on Estrada for now.
“We have to focus on Estrada right now. We have to focus on what’s next,” Garcia added.
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