Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez Interview: Talks Estrada Bout and Reveals Fascinating Dream Fight

On Saturday, June 29, Jesse Bam Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) will face off against Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, with Estrada’s WBC and Ring Magazine super flyweight titles on the line. The entire card will be streamed live on DAZN. Ahead of the fight, Bam has spoken to Dan Rafael about the upcoming contest and revealed his dream fight.

Jesse Rodriguez Next Fight: ‘Bam’ Talks Estrada Bout and Reveals Fascinating Dream Fight

‘Bam’ Talks With Dan Rafael

When asked if this was the biggest name he would face, Bam answered without hesitation: “Yeah, sure, this is definitely the biggest fight, the biggest opportunity of my career. I’ve never faced a fighter like Estrada, so I’m coming more than ready for this fight.”

When asked to reflect on his win against Sunny Edwards, Rodriguez said: “I felt like I showed people I can box. A lot of people considered me the come-forward fighter, but I was able to hang in there with his speed.”

He continued: “After that first round, I already knew it was gonna end in my favour.”

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Bam was asked with humour by Rafael “So what took so long,” The Texan fighter responded: “He was a tough fighter. I give a lot of credit to Sunny, he was a tough fighter. He took some shots and he just never stopped. It was a good fight overall.”

Rafael asked Bam if Estrada was always the targeted opponent for this fight: “Estrada is definitely the best fighter in the division, and that’s what I’m here to do – fight the best fighters and just pick up belts along the way and come June 29 that’s what I’m going to do.”

Responding to a question about the importance of the age gap between himself and Estrada, Bam said: “Yeah that’s a huge role definitely, especially with the lay-off he’s been on. I think it’s been almost two years. I feel like that’s gonna play a huge factor in this fight, but I’m not leaning towards that. I know he’s going to come ready, more than ever.”

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He continued: “I feel like he has a lot to prove, a lot to lose as well, so I’m expecting the best Estrada and hope he’s expecting the best Bam Rodriguez.”

When asked about the type of fight he expects on June 29, the Texan native said: “I can see myself outboxing him, to be honest. I have a lot of skill. I showed that in the Sunny fight, but I feel like – I didn’t show it to my full potential. So I feel like this fight will make me a lot smarter. No disrespect but he (Sunny) didn’t have the power to keep me off of him, so I wasn’t as cautious, but against a fighter like Estrada I feel like I’ll be more cautious, more elusive, so I feel like I’ll show more boxing skills this fight.”

He added: “With a record like Estrada, you gotta respect his power.”

Listen to the exclusive interview below with Bam Rodriguez as Dan Rafael and TJ Rives review the weekend’s boxing action on the Big Fight Weekend podcast.

Future Plans

When asked about his goals and possibly moving up in weight, Bam said: “After this fight, I do have a rematch clause with Estrada, so if that were to end up going through, then I will fight Estrada again. Then I would love to fight the winner of Ioka and Martinez. If the WBO presents itself, I will go for undisputed as well.”

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With the interview wrapping up, Rafael asked Bam if he has a dream fight: “Yeah I would love to fight (Naoya) Inoue in Japan, when were actually in the same weight class, not now obviously. But down the line a few years from now, I would love that fight.”