Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez could not have been prouder to come home with a major title in tow and then given the chance to defend that belt in front of all his friends and family.
The unbeaten San Antonio native is equally as proud to return to his roots in a bid to become the city’s first-ever two-division major titlist. However, it comes with mixed feelings as he feels his upcoming WBO flyweight title bid versus Mexico’s Cristian Gonzalez should trail another historic feat not just for the local scene but within his family.
Rodriguez’s shot at winning a second belt headlines a DAZN show this Saturday from Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio. It takes place a little more than three months after Joshua Franco, Rodriguez’s older brother, was forced to settle for a majority draw versus Kazuto Ioka in their New Year’s Eve WBA/WBO junior bantamweight title unification in Tokyo.
“It’s crazy. I should be making the second bit of history for San Antonio,” Rodriguez told BoxingScene.com. “He should have come home as our city’s first unified world champion. The plan was for me to join him making history by becoming the first multiple division world champion from San Antonio on April 8.
“So, that goal is there for me but it would have been cool for us to have been able to do that together. He didn’t get the win that I thought he deserved but it is what is. Now, I have to go out there and make a statement and make history on April 8.”
Rodriguez (17-0, 11KOs) and Gonzalez (15-1, 6KOs) will compete for the vacant WBO flyweight left behind when Junto Nakatani opted to move up in weight and compete in the junior bantamweight division. The night will mark the fourth straight title fight for Rodriguez, who won and twice defended the WBC 115-pound crown all as part of an active three-fight 2022 campaign.
His success came while Franco first waited out a title consolidation bout versus Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28KOs) that never saw the light of day, and then watched his contract expire with Golden Boy Promotions. The fourth quarter of 2022 provided good news, when the WBO approved Ioka (29-2-1, 15KOs) to enter a title unification bout in lieu of a mandatory title fight.
Their fight itself didn’t provide the outcome that Franco expected or thought he deserved, however.
The two will meet again later this June but only with Franco’s WBA title at stake. Ioka was forced to relinquish, since there was already a written agreement for the reigning WBO 115-pound titlist following their December 31 match to next face Nakatani in a mandatory title defense. Ioka instead opted for the rematch, though it leaves Franco to defend his title rather than fight for another and potentially join his younger brother in San Antonio’s history books.
“Josh deserves that opportunity to become undisputed champion,” insisted Rodriguez. “It kind of stinks that he has to wait a little longer to get there. This (rematch) with Ioka is only for Josh’s belt since Ioka gave up his title. So now he still has to beat three more champions even after he wins this fight. But he will be undisputed champion, for sure.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox