Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez understands boxing fans would salivate over the prospect of seeing him challenge Naoya Inoue someday.
However, fresh off of devastating Juan Francisco Estrada for a seventh-round knockout to become the new WBC and Ring Magazine super flyweight world champion Saturday night, the 24-year-old Rodriguez decided to pump the brakes on any thought of a dream fight with the undisputed junior featherweight king.
"I know people want that but let's be real — right now it's a fantasy fight," Rodriguez told DAZN's Chris Mannix after dismantling Estrada.
"I got to work my way up," he continued. "[Inoue's] at 122 [pounds] right now, I'm barely at 115 so I got business to handle here at this weight class. I got to make my way up."
Instead of moving up to challenge the "Monster," Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) shared that he'd like to focus on becoming the undisputed 115-pound world champion as his next boxing goal.