The 23-year-old Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is aiming to cap out 2023 by becoming a unified champion, continuing his impressive career that began in 2022 when he was named to numerous Fighter of the Year lists.
Saturday night, Rodriguez will fight for the vacant WBO flyweight title against Sunny Edwards, the current champion of the International Boxing Federation. The 2022 season for Rodriguez yielded three victories. With only about a week’s notice, Rodriguez fought Carlos Cuadras for the vacant WBC super flyweight title in February of that year, moving him up a weight class. By winning, Rodriguez became the sport’s youngest active champion.
In 2022, he prevailed over Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Israel Gonzalez to successfully defend his championship twice. Rodriguez vacated his super flyweight crown this year to return to flyweight, where he won the vacant WBO title with a victory against Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez. Rodriguez had to recover from surgery and a layoff after breaking his jaw in the fight with Hernandez before he could train to challenge Edwards in a unification bout.
Two undefeated fighters, “Sunny Edwards and Jesse Rodriguez,” meet up in a title unification bout on Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona.
Edwards and Rodriguez Fight info:
► Date: Saturday, Dec. 16
► Location: Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona
► Main card: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
► Rodriguez vs Edwards: approximately 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT
► Stream on: DAZN
► Watch anywhere: Try FitePass 100% risk-free
What has been said about Rodriguez and Edwards?
Edwards is of the opinion that Rodriguez will not only be his most difficult opponent to date, but also someone he will be able to negotiate with.
In a conversation that took place earlier this year, he stated, “I believe that he is possibly the hardest.
On the other hand, I consider him to be a perfect match for me. As far as I can tell, he has demonstrated that he is unable to respond appropriately when opponents move in the opposite direction of him.
“He loses his shape, he falls in, he gets caught, and the power that he thought he had isn’t really there when someone isn’t walking on to the punches,” the speaker said.
“If you’re telling me that to get to some sort of greatness, it’s through a 23-year-old that can’t come forward, then I’m running to that fight first.”
Rodriguez vs. Edwards Fight Prediction
Edwards is a deceptive and quick fighter who tries to persuade his opponents to remain neutral as they attempt to figure out the spaces and timing that will allow them to catch him. In spite of the fact that he is younger, Rodriguez has fought more formidable opponents and has more pop in his shots, which gives the impression that it could be the deciding factor in the fight. If Rodriguez is able to force exchanges, Edwards does not really have the strength to back down from him or make him question his resolve to go toe-to-toe with him.
There is no doubt that Rodriguez vs. Edwards is deserving of being included among the best fights that can be made in the sport, and this can be said despite the fact that this year was packed with significant battles that featured talented competitors. These are the kinds of battles that both of these young and skilled boxers need to have in order to raise their profiles.
Edwards is a very strong underdog going into the fight, and he has the potential to utterly outbox Rodriguez and use his quickness to prevent Rodriguez from getting his game going. Rodriguez, on the other hand, possesses a high battle IQ and the ability to win the bout. Include the fact that Rodriguez will be competing in Glendale, Arizona, where he will have the advantage of being at home, and you have the recipe for a battle that will be extremely close, but Rodriguez will emerge victorious on the scorecards.
How to watch IBF & WBC Flyweight fight: Edwards vs. Rodriguez in Canada
DAZN will stream all fight action in Canada. You can get it as part of a cable deal or subscribe to the service on a streaming-only basis for $19.99 + tax.
Alternative streaming option: FitePass is an independent multipurpose streaming platform. Subscribers can watch Sunny Edwards vs. Jesse Rodriguez live stream boxing from anywhere. No cable or VPN is required. Onetime Payment, No Hidden Charge.
Rodriguez vs Edwards date, start time, venue and ring walks
At the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States of America, the fight between Rodriguez and Edwards is scheduled to take place tonight, Saturday, December 16, 2023.
It will be a late-night affair that fight fans in the United Kingdom are accustomed to, as the seven-hour time difference means that the main event ring walks won’t be anticipated until 3:55 am GMT on Sunday morning.
Main Card (8:00 pm ET)
- Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (18-0, 11 KO) vs Sunny Edwards (20-0, 4 KO), flyweights, 12 rounds, for Rodriguez’s WBO and Edwards’ IBF titles
- Murodjon Akhmadaliev (11-1, 8 KO) vs Kevin Gonzalez (26-0-1, 13 KO), junior featherweights, 12 rounds, WBA eliminator
- Galal Yafai (5-0, 4 KO) vs Rocco Santomauro (22-2, 6 KO), flyweights, 10 rounds
- Peter McGrail (8-0, 5 KO) vs Ja’Rico O’Quinn (16-1-1, 8 KO), junior featherweights, 10 rounds
Prelims (6:00 pm ET)
- Arturo Cardenas (11-0-1, 7 KO) vs Carlos Mujica (8-3, 2 KO), junior featherweights, 8 rounds
- Junaid Bostan (7-0, 6 KO) vs Gordie Russ II (6-0, 6 KO), junior middleweights, 8 rounds
- Albert Gonzalez (6-0, 2 KO) vs Alexis Molina (9-2-1, 5 KO), featherweights, 6 rounds
- Joe McGrail (7-0, 3 KO) vs Edgar Ortiz Jr (8-4-2, 4 KO), featherweights, 6 rounds
