They call him “Bam” for exactly that reason. In a sudden switch from what had been a competitive bout through four rounds, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez promoted himself to three-division champion Saturday night by knocking out Antonio Vargas in the sixth round and claiming his WBA bantamweight belt.
On a straight left hand to the nose, Rodriguez finished Vargas 1 minute, 15 seconds into the sixth, quickly racing to a nearby corner to step up and raise his fists in triumph.
“I was just happy I’m a three-division champion at 26 years old,” Rodriguez 24-0 (17 KOs) said.
Rodriguez changed the course of the fight instantly one round earlier, hammering Vargas with a left, knocking him down and believing the fight might be over then.
“I say it all the time: It just happens,” Rodriguez said. “I do me, and the knockouts just come.”
Rodriguez glanced at trainer Robert Garcia as Vargas arose, and then peppered him with big blows that further softened him up for the finish that was arriving next.
“I have a lot of respect for [Vargas],” Rodriguez said.
The post-fight conversation turned immediately to the possibility of Rodriguez next meeting Japan’s unbeaten four-division and undisputed junior-featherweight division champion Naoya Inoue 33-0 (27 KOs).
“Whoever they put in front of me, I’m going to say yes,” Rodriguez said. “I felt a lot stronger.”
Vargas 19-2-1 (11 KOs), after saying he planned to weigh nearly a rehydrated 130lbs in the ring, displayed crisp boxing acumen in the first by landing jabs and throwing combinations.
It was as if Rodriguez was just taking it all in, and he flashed his true self and more universal skill set in the second, pounding Vargas with lefts and even sticking his tongue out for a ringside cameraman, as if to say, “I’m fine.”
Vargas closed the second impressively, throwing both hands as Rodriguez backed to the ropes, absorbing shots.
Again in the third, while Rodriguez found openings with his lefts, he was engaged with Vargas delivering combinations that brought the surprise suggestion that this was anybody’s fight.
Another even exchange in the fourth emphasized the point. And while Rodriguez pressed lefts to Vargas’ head, Vargas again closed well with a flush right to the head.
“He had pop in his punches. He was a lot stronger than I thought,” Rodriguez said.
Vargas, who escaped knockdowns and being hurt in his past two fights to win the belt and retain it by draw, certainly shared the sentiment after those blistering blows in the fifth and sixth.
“This young man is 26 and has so much more to give to the sport,” Rodriguez promoter Eddie Hearn said. “This inevitable fight [against Inoue] will take place.”
Garcia said he was quickly texted by Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh after the fight, but didn’t read the entire message regarding the
interest in where to place Rodriguez next.
“The deal’s got to be right. That fight is inevitable,” Hearn said. “Bam will be there, and trust me when I say he ain’t getting beat.”
Source: boxingscene.com