It is often said that in boxing the best are no longer able to fight the best because of political and financial failures on the part of promoters. If this unwritten rule is true then then Jesse Rodriguez was certainly never listening. Whilst the rest of boxing seems only just to be getting its act together and putting together the biggest fights it can, the flyweight division is continuing on as normal, once again leading by example in how the sport should be organized
This weekend Jesse Bam Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards will square off in what promises to be the stuff of dreams for hardcore boxing fans. Stylistically the fight is a rare clash, with Rodriguez taking the role of the technically brilliant and hard-punching champion whilst Edwards will play the elusive showboater looking to move and poke his way to a clean victory.
Jesse Rodriguez, the breakout star of 2022 cemented his place in super flyweight history by beating both Carlos Cuadras and Siraksat Sor Rungvisai within the space of 5 months. Not only was he able to dominate Cuadras on short notice but he even more impressively managed to stop Sor Rungvisai in 8 rounds, a feat no one had managed for over 8 years. At only 22 years old, Rodriguez showed the smarts as well as the astonishing speed and athleticism to coral both men into his savage southpaw combination punching, taming their aggressive come-forward styles.
Jesse Rodriguez Shows Technical Brilliance
In the third round of his fight with Cuadras, Jesse Rodriguez hit what was one of the most impressive knockdowns in recent years. Gaining the outside foot positioning on Cuadras from his southpaw stance, shifting across to orthodox and then unloading a picture-perfect right uppercut that put Cuadras on his back. With a single punch Rodriguez immediately caught the attention of the boxing world and announced his arrival as a world class talent.
In his past two fights however, Rodriguez has come up against men who managed to show that aspects of Rodriguez’s style could be exploited. Israel Gonzalez decided to take a less aggressive approach than Cuadras and Sor Rungvisai, finding success against Rodriguez by taking a step back and drawing him onto the uppercut. Although Gonzalez’s strategy did not get him the win, it did show that Rodriguez, for someone who was being touted as a p4p great, was less defensively sound than some hoped when he was playing the bull rather than the matador.
Last Time Out for Rodriguez
His most recent fight, his return to flyweight, also showed Rodriguez’s defense is less reliable when he needs to go on the front-foot. His opponent, Christian Gonzalez created an awkward contest by using lateral movement round the outside of the ring, switching stances, and poking at Bam with straight punches. Managing to break Rodriguez’s jaw in the later rounds, Gonzalez demonstrated a good strategy to pick up rounds against the great young fighter that Sunny Edwards will surely have been paying attention to.
Edwards, the 27 year-old Brit seems to be one of the most talented boxers this country has produced this century. An elusive mover, Edwards has shown himself to be outsized and outgunned on many occasions and yet remains undefeated because of his flicking jabs from either stance and his ability to draw his opponents onto counters. Never lacking in confidence, Edwards is known to drop his hands and look into the crowd regularly during his fights, his reactions always serving him well for however his opponent reacts.
Sunny Edwards is Looking to Make a Statement
Edwards up until his past few fights has demonstrated a consistency to his approach, avoiding exchanges at all costs and picking his opponent off as they try to close the distance. He did not need to change anything up because it so consistently won him fights, allowing him to win almost every round to win the IBF title against the veteran Moruti Mthalane.
Although his trainer Grant Smith claims Edward’s is carrying a secret punch power, only seen in sparring, he is yet to need it in the ring. Edward’s has even stated that he “isn’t trying to hurt people ” in the ring because he believes his technique and athleticism can get him the win without him having to take the risk of stopping to plant his feet. The problem Edwards might face is if power becomes required of him to keep Rodriguez off him, and then he must show it.
Edwards Changes Styles?
Recently against Andres Campos, Edwards showed more willingness to plant his feet and exchange both to claim his space in the ring and simply to prove that he could exchange. Edward’s defensive awareness proved almost as reliable in this closer range as it did at his preferred greater distance. Yet Campos did find success when Edwards paused against the ropes, framing on him with his forearms, head and shoulders to pin him in position for the big shots that he did manage to land. It seems likely that Rodriguez’s trainer, the great Robert Garcia will have picked up on this in the game planning for the fight.
Never one to try and hide his intentions, Edwards stated explicitly in his recent face-off with Rodrguez that he will use his orthodox stance exclusively in this fight to try and line up his right hand. This approach would probably be the most advisable, as Edwards will likely pick up rounds if he lowers the activity and relies on his movement, flick jab and right hand to tag Rodriguez and get off or tie-up before an exchange can happen. Judging by Rodriguez’s training footage, having his pad holders stand in both stances, he does not appear to be taking Edward’s at his word and is preparing for all possibilities.
Conclusion
A significant factor in this fight for both men is their age, Rodriquez and Edwards being 23 and 27 respectively. At such young ages it is certainly plausible that a lot will have been added to their skill sets in the time which has elapsed since their last fights. For Rodriguez, this fight will represent a huge test for him as the assignment of tracking down a smaller and faster man, based on his last two fights, should prove hard for him. His best chance is likely to try and put Edward’s against the ropes and use his physicality to create openings, investing heavily on the body early and producing a lot of volume in the mid to late rounds.
Conversely, he could also go on the backfoot himself and try to make Edwards come to him, taking him out of how he likes to fight. There is always the potential of this strategy creating a boring fight, and Rodriguez’s willingness for a war therefore makes it seem unlikely he will use it.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images & Embed from Getty Images
