'Bam' Rodriguez takes Estrada's WBC belt on 7th-round KO
Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez claimed the WBC junior bantamweight belt from Juan Francisco Estrada on a devastating body shot in the seventh round Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
BAM FOLDS ESTRADA WITH A BODY SHOT AND IT'S OVER IN 7 🤯🤯🤯🤯 @DAZNBoxing #EstradaBam pic.twitter.com/JgZPK1FoyU
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) June 30, 2024
The 24-year-old Rodriguez improves to 20-0 with 13 knockouts. Following the victory, the undefeated star said he wanted the winner of the upcoming fight between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez in an attempt to unify the division. Ioka currently owns the WBA belt while Martinez possesses the IBF title.
However, the 34-year-old Estrada said he plans to exercise his rematch clause and face Rodriguez again to try to reclaim the WBC championship.
Rodriguez and Estrada both scored knockdowns in the electric fight. Estrada landed a brutal combination - ending in a hard right hand - in the sixth round, becoming the first to floor Rodriguez.
Rodriguez staggered Estrada in the third round and knocked him to the canvas in the fourth before eventually putting him down for good in the seventh.
While they didn't end up factoring into the equation, the scorecards indicated a draw through six rounds. Rodriguez led 58-54 on Steve Morrow's card and trailed 57-56 on Javier Camacho's card while Robert Tapper had scored it 56-56.
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