- Jesse Rodriguez will move up to 115 lbs after unifying titles with a stoppage win in December
- The 24-year-old P4P star will take on Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada for his WBC strap
- Gallo Estrada vs Bam Rodriguez headlines Matchroom show on June 29 in Phoenix, AZ
WBC super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada will defend his strap against the former unified flyweight titleist Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez on Saturday, June 29 in Phoenix, Arizona – one day before Mexico’s soccer match with Ecuador in Arizona.
Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) hasn’t fought since he edged a decision over Roman ‘Chocalatito’ Gonzalez in their trilogy fight in December 2022.
The Mexican was in talks to unify with Kazutko Ioka. A deal, however, could not be reached and Ioka will now unify with IBF champion Fernando Martinez.
Rodriguez won the vacant WBO Flyweight title in April and then beat another belt holder, Sunny Edwards , via an impressive stoppage win in a fight many people had as 50-50 going in.
Bam now looks to regain the WBC title he held in 2022 at super flyweight against one of the biggest stars of the lower weight classes, Estrada.
Gallo Estrada vs Bam Rodriguez Undercard
Sunny Edwards and Adrian Curiel clash in a 12-round Flyweight battle as the chief support.
Both men will be looking to bounce back to winning ways and get back to World champion status, and for Edwards (20-1 4 KOs), it’s an immediate return to the state where he met headline star Rodriguez in a unification clash in December.
The Briton faced ‘Bam’ in Glendale with his IBF title on the line against the WBO king, but was stopped in the ninth round of a thrilling battle, leaving the states with a first-career defeat.
The 28-year-old, who also penned a new deal with Matchroom today, will be looking to regain the IBF belt after Bam vacated it to face Estrada, a title that he took from Moruti Mthalane in London in April 2021 and successfully defended four times before facing Rodriguez.
Curiel (24-5-1 5 KOs) moves up in weight after two dramatic World title clashes with Sivenathi Nontshinga. The Mexican challenged the South African in Monte Carlo for the IBF World Light-Flyweight title in November and stunned the champion with a KO of the year contending right hand in the second round to rip the crown away.
The pair met again in a rematch in February in Oaxaca, Mexico, but this time it was the former champion who exacted revenge in a thrilling battle with a 10th-round stoppage.
Yamileth Mercado (23-3, 5 KOs) will defend her WBC World Super-Bantamweight title against Ramla Ali (9-1, 2 KOs).
Mercado defends her title for the seventh time after winning the strap in November 2019 and will fight in the States for just the second time in Phoenix, having taken on Amanda Serrano in Cleveland in August 2021.
The long-reigning Mexican pitched a shut-out in her last defence in April in Tijuana, dominating Linda Laura Lecca over the ten-round distance.
Ali enters her first World title bout full of confidence having gained sweet revenge over Julissa Guzman in her last outing in Monte Carlo in November.
Ali was stopped by the Mexican in June in New Orleans, but Ali, who became the first fighter to represent Somalia in the 2020 Olympics, outboxed her foe in the rematch and is thrilled to be getting the chance to land the coveted green and gold.
Unbeaten duo Arturo Cardenas and Danny Barrios meet for the WBC Continental Americas Super-Bantamweight title.
Gallo Estrada vs Bam Rodriguez
Estrada vs Rodriguez Date and Location: June 29 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Estrada vs Rodrgiez TV Channel: DAZN
Estrada vs Rodriguez Start Time: 1 am BST (8 pm ET)
Estrada vs Rodriguez Ring Walks: 4 am BST (11 pm ET)
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