Jesse Rodríguez to get bantamweight title shot.
With every truly great fighter, there is always a moment in their career that you can point to where their brilliance was displayed for the very first time, a moment where they started being great and continued to be so from then on.
For Muhammad Ali, it was his first victory over Sonny Liston. For Tyson Fury, it was his win over Wladimir Klitschko.
For Jesse Rodríguez, it was his triumph over Carlos Cuadras.
At 22 years old, Rodríguez was set to fight Fernando Diaz for the WBC USNBC flyweight title on the undercard of the rematch between Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai on the 5th of February, 2022.
However, when Sor Rungvisai pulled out of the main event, Rodríguez moved up to super-flyweight and took his place against Cuadras for the vacant WBC world championship.
Rodríguez was not expected to win, but on that night, he showed everyone what he was about, dropping Cuadras on his way to a decision victory that made him the youngest world champion in boxing at the time.
Rodríguez would prove this was no fluke by stopping Sor Rungvisai in his very next fight, which led to another defence of his title before moving down to flyweight to win the WBO strap and become a two-weight champion.
He would then stop Britain’s unbeaten defensive master Sunny Edwards, taking his IBF belt in the process. And immediately after, he moved back up in weight to knock out Juan Francisco Estrada, regaining his WBC title and picking up The Ring championship in the process.
A quick defence of these trinkets was followed by Rodríguez picking up the WBO title from Phumelela Cafu. And most recently, he took out Fernando Martinez to claim the WBA title.
A three-belt champion at just 26, a fight for the fourth title at super-flyweight has ultimately eluded Rodríguez. And as a result, he has decided to move up in weight.
Rodríguez’s next ring appearance will be against Antonio Vargas (19-1-1 (1), 11 KOs), the WBA bantamweight champion.
This will allow Rodríguez to become a three-division champion against a fellow Texas-born fighter, and it will take place on the 13th of June at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, United States.
Bam makes the move 📈
WBA World Bantamweight Champion Antonio Vargas welcomes two-division Unified World Champion @210bam to 118lbs 🔥#BamVargas lands at the @DDArenaAZ, June 13 👊 @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/5tIn1ZrjKJ
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 17, 2026
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