Two-division sensation Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez insists his mind is fixed on Saturday night in Frisco, not the multimillion-dollar summit already pencilled in for November 22. The 25-year-old will try to add Phumelele Cafu’s WBO strap to his own WBC title in a 115-lb unification at The Ford Center, even though a victory automatically triggers a three-belt showdown with WBA ruler Fernando “Pumita” Martinez on Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh super-card.
Promoter Eddie Hearn admits the premature announcement was unavoidable once Alalshikh demanded the Martinez contract be signed before Rodriguez stepped through the ropes this weekend. “We didn’t really want to make it before this fight,” Hearn told BoxingScene, “but Bam never says no, so we agreed - then shut down any talk of New York pressers to keep him locked on Cafu.”
Rodriguez (already a -2500 betting favourite) refuses to treat the South African as a stepping-stone. Cafu is unbeaten in 14, fresh off a Tokyo upset of four-division star Kosei Tanaka, and fights in the United States for the first time with nothing to lose. “He’s dangerous,” said Bam. “He trained at full capacity to do the same thing to me that he did to Tanaka. I’m ready for anything.”
Matchroom actually wanted Martinez first, but the Argentine champion’s May victory in his Ioka rematch delayed plans and made Cafu the logical choice for Rodriguez’s 2025 opener. Now, the San Antonio southpaw can still march toward undisputed status - so long as he collects Saturday’s belt before thinking about Saudi riches.
“My original goal was to become undisputed,” Rodriguez said. “Right now, that means beating Cafu and taking each belt one fight at a time. The rest will come when it’s earned, not promised.”
Get to know more about Rodriguez vs. Cafu fight.
Image Credit: Matchroom