Unrelenting pressure allowed Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez to commit to the body, cut off the ring and land a steadfast barrage of flush shots.
The 23-year-old rode that strategy en route to a gritty unanimous decision victory over Cristian Gonzalez to become the new WBO flyweight world champion Saturday night. Judges inside the Boeing Center at Tech Port, San Antonio, Texas scored it 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 all in favor of Rodriguez, who had to overcome a broken jaw, which he said he suffered during the sixth round of the fight.
"Bam" noticed Gonzalez's penchant for standing too upright and leaving his chin out and used early deposits to the body to shift to measured punches upstairs. Though Gonzalez was ultra pesky in his constant movement, using it to land shots of his own, he was outclassed by Rodriguez's steady, pointed pressure.
After claiming his second world title in a second weight class, "Bam" didn't waste time setting his sights on IBF world flyweight titleholder Sunny Edwards for a possible unification bout.
"That's the only option," Rodriguez told DAZN's Chris Mannix. "I seen he's been talking, so let's make it happen."