On November 9 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) shone in the co-main event, comprehensively defeating Pedro Guevara (42-5-1, 22 KOs) by third-round TKO to retain his WBC super flyweight title. The entire Matchroom Boxing card was shown live on DAZN in over 200 countries.
The opening round saw “Bam” start brightly, moving his feet well. The second round saw Guevara try to work the body of “Bam,” but the American’s footwork appears sharp tonight.
Round three saw Rodriguez start brightly landing straight lefts bloodying the nose of his opponent, before a beautifully timed left hand knocked Guevara down. Despite making the count “Bam” smelt blood and soon landed a short right uppercut which sent his opponent crashing to the canvas, forcing the referee to wave the fight off, awarding Rodriguez a third-round TKO win. That was impressive from “Bam,” as he created angles to attack with his excellent footwork. Can anyone stop Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez?
“I’m pretty happy [with my performance],” Rodriguez, 24, said after making his first title defense, “but I already kind of knew it was going to happen that way.”
When asked what’s next: “Any unification fight. Im ready now.”
Eddie Hearn heaped praise on Rodriguez: “That was an artist at work.”
“I think this kid is number three P4P in the world.”
“I think it’s time for a little trip to Riyadh Season.”
Raymond Ford (16-1-1, 8 KOs) produced an impressive performance on his first appearance in the super featherweight division, defeating Orlando Gonzalez (23-3, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision, with the judges scorecards reading 99-89 and 100-88 x2.
Manuel Gallegos (21-2-1, 18 KOs) caused a huge upset, defeating Matchroom Boxing light heavyweight prospect Khaili Coe (9-1-1, 7 KOs) by ninth-round TKO to win the WBC USA light heavyweight title.
Austin Williams (17-1, 12 KOs) overcame the tough Gian Garrido (11-2, 8 KOs) to win by fifth-round TKO in their middleweight fight.
Ismail Muhammad (7-0, 3 KOs) defeated Nelson Morales (5-20, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision – with all three judges scoring the fight 40-36 for their welterweight contest.
Three-time national amateur champion Zaquin Moses (1-0, 0 KOs) defeated Michael Ruiz (1-5, 0 KOs) on his professional debut, with all three judges scoring the super featherweight bout 40-36. It was a debut full of promising moments for the 19-year-old.
Dennis Thompson (3-0, 2 KO) impressed in his super bantamweight contest against Edgar Ortiz Jr (8-6-2, 4 KOs), winning by second-round TKO.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!