INSIDE THE RING: Championship title in second weight class for ‘Bam’ Rodriguez

SAN ANTONIO – Over 2,500 fans packed the Boeing Center at Tech Port Saturday night to witness boxing history.

San Antonio’s world champ, 23-year-old Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, defeated Mexico’s Cristian Gonzalez with a 12-round unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBO World Flyweight title.

With the victory, “Bam” becomes the first boxer from San Antonio to win a championship belt in two different weight classes.

Rodriguez, who improves to 18-0 with 11 knockouts, maintained a steady barrage of punches throughout the night as Gonzalez constantly found himself on the outside and his back against the ropes.

Despite being able to stay on his feet, Gonzalez managed to break Rodriguez’s jaw in the sixth round, something no one ringside or on the DAZN broadcast seemed to notice until the post-fight interview.

After “Bam” was announced the winner, Matchroom Sport Chairman and Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed the broken jaw with the local media. Even though plans had “Bam” fighting to unify the flyweight division sometime this year, “Bam” will now require surgery this week and be sidelined for months, if not the rest of 2023.

(Disclaimer: The video below contains explicit language. Viewer discretion is advised.)

You can see more from “Bam” Rodriguez in the video above as well as Hearn’s interview following the championship bout.

Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 for over 19 years and is an award-winning producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com