Juan Francisco Estrada Out to Hush Doubters vs Bam Rodriguez
Boxing fans are buzzing about the June 29 showdown between reigning WBC junior bantamweight title-holder Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada (44-3, 29 KOs) and two-division world champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. The defending champion is determined to accomplish two things when they face off at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. One, show his superiority to Rodriguez and prove to the critics that he has plenty of fights left in his system.
FAR FROM FINISHED
Estrada has been out of the ring since December 2022, when he scored a majority decision victory in his trilogy battle with rival Roman Gonzalez. Due to his lengthy time away from the ring, there’s been suspicion that El Gallo is on the verge of hanging up the gloves. But during an interview with Matchroom Boxing, the 34-year-old Estrada said that’s far from the case.
(Translated from Spanish) “I have about four or five years left in my career. So, the truth is that a lot of people are wrong, and this 29th, I’m going to prove it.”
STILL HAS A FEW TRICKS UP HIS SLEEVE
He’s facing Rodriguez, one of the best young fighters in the sport. The 23-year-old is coming off an eleventh-round stoppage over Sunny Edwards in December 2023 to become a unified champion at 112.
Bam is riding a tremendous wave of momentum. Talented and full of confidence, several members of the boxing community have made Rodriguez the favorite. That only seemed to fuel the fire of Estrada.
“He’s ten years younger than me. He’s hungry, he wants to be a world champion in this division, and I want to continue to make history . . . I consider myself to be a very complete boxer. I can go out, I can pressure, I can brawl. I don’t think Bam is going to have it easy.”
To his point, El Gallo is one of the all-around fighters in the world. There’s no visible weakness in his game. He’s more than capable of outboxing Rodriguez and pulling off the win.
Can the old lion and future Hall of Famer have enough to ward off the young cub in Rodriguez? It all makes for added intrigue when they battle it out in one of the most anticipated fights of 2024.
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