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Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez Makes His Statement; Arturo Cardenas
Settles Old Business in Arizona
By William Trillo
Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona, boxing once again
reminded everyone that while hype remains a valuable
currency in the sport, talent eventually arrives to collect
the debt.
And in the case of Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, business appears
to be booming.
Rodriguez captured the WBA bantamweight title at Desert
Diamond Arena with a devastating sixth-round stoppage of
Antonio Vargas, claiming a world championship in a third
weight division and perhaps moving one step closer toward
what could become one of boxing’s biggest international
events — a potential super fight with undisputed super
bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue.
If that fight happens, “The Monster” may want to bring more
than confidence.
He may want to bring a very good insurance policy.
Vargas entered the bout with an intelligent opening
strategy, using a straight right hand lead almost as a jab
against the southpaw Rodriguez, forcing Bam to spend much of
the opening round surveying the landscape and gathering
information.
Apparently, the download completed quickly.
Rodriguez emerged aggressively in round two, showcasing the
kind of elite footwork that has quietly become one of the
most polished weapons in his arsenal. Digging to the body
with sharp combinations, Bam began asserting control, though
Vargas reminded everyone exactly why he entered the evening
as a world champion by closing the round strongly enough to
at least make the scorecards think a little harder than
expected.
Vargas continued frustrating Rodriguez in the third,
touching him repeatedly with clean but largely non-damaging
shots, doing just enough to disrupt rhythm while preventing
Bam from fully settling into the kind of offensive flow that
usually signals trouble.
The problem, however, was becoming increasingly obvious.
Rodriguez was thinking several moves ahead.
By the fifth round, the gap had begun closing rapidly and
less than a minute into the frame Vargas found himself
violently introduced to the canvas courtesy of a crushing
left hand.
For Vargas, this was hardly unfamiliar territory. In each of
his previous two fights he had also been dropped, only to
rise, recover, and somehow retain his title both times.
Unfortunately for him, Jesse Rodriguez had apparently not
read that script.
Just over three minutes later Rodriguez connected with
another perfectly timed left hand, and this time Vargas
stayed exactly where gravity intended him to remain.
Official time of stoppage came at 1:15 of round six.
Unofficially, boxing may have just received fair warning.
Should Rodriguez make the expected move to super
bantamweight in pursuit of a showdown with Naoya Inoue, the
Japanese superstar may need to proceed carefully.
Inoue remains one of boxing’s elite pound-for-pound talents.
He also has a tendency to occasionally remind observers that
defensive responsibility is, at times, more of a polite
suggestion than a lifestyle.
And Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez?
He appears very much to be the goods.
Rodriguez improved to 24-0 with his sixth consecutive
stoppage victory, afterward making it abundantly clear
future negotiations need not involve much convincing.
“I’m ready for whoever, whenever,” Rodriguez said after the
fight. “Put them in front of me, and I’m going to say yes.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn, never exactly known for underselling a
product he controls, immediately turned attention toward the
possibility of Rodriguez eventually facing Inoue.
“After Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury, Bam versus Inoue is
the biggest fight in the sport, no doubt,” Hearn said
afterward. “There’s no one on this planet beating Bam
Rodriguez at 118 or 122 pounds, not even Naoya Inoue.”
That statement may or may not survive internet debate by
morning.
Earlier in the evening, Arturo Cardenas entered the co-main
event carrying significantly different motivation.
Back in February, Cardenas and undefeated prospect Jordan
Martinez fought to a split draw in the same arena, leaving
enough unfinished business to warrant a second conversation.
This time, Cardenas showed up apparently uninterested in
discussing anything.
The contrast between both fighters during ring walks offered
an early clue regarding how the evening might unfold.
Martinez entered bouncing, dancing, and happily embracing
the energy of the crowd, fully committed to the role of
hometown entertainer.
Meanwhile, Cardenas looked like a man who had already
mentally clocked in for work several hours earlier.
Stoic.
Focused.
Completely expressionless.
As it turned out, first impressions proved accurate.
Cardenas boxed beautifully behind his jab early, controlling
the opening rounds with clean technical work while Martinez
briefly found success in the middle rounds, even appearing
to momentarily rattle the champion with several sharp left
hands in the fourth.
Any thought of another competitive fight, however,
disappeared quickly.
From round five forward, Cardenas systematically broke
Martinez down from the outside, controlling distance, timing
exchanges perfectly, and gradually draining whatever
optimism remained in the opposite corner.
By round seven, Martinez’s facial expression said everything
scorecards eventually confirmed.
He had absolutely nothing left to slow the momentum building
across from him.
Judges returned scores of 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93, all
comfortably in favor of Cardenas, who improved to 18-0-2
while retaining his WBC Continental Americas super
bantamweight title.
Martinez, meanwhile, suffered the unfortunate experience of
learning that sometimes a split draw simply means your
opponent spent the next four months studying ways to make
your life considerably more unpleasant.
Saturday night belonged to Jesse Rodriguez.
But somewhere within boxing’s increasingly chaotic future,
one possible conclusion continues becoming harder to ignore.
If Naoya Inoue and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez eventually share a
ring together, the rest of the sport may want to stop
whatever it is they are doing. Because that one has all the
ingredients necessary to become something very special. Or,
at minimum, very violent.
Which in boxing, admittedly, often works just fine.
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