It’s no secret that flyweight champ Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is looking to move back up to 115 lbs, and that his target is Juan Francisco Estrada.
ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez reports that promoter Eddie Hearn is looking to stage the fight this summer in Phoenix, where Hearn is this week with John Ryder, who is facing Jaime Munguia Saturday on DAZN.
Rodriguez also says that Estrada, who hasn’t fought since his third bout against Chocolatito Gonzalez in late 2022, is possibly looking to get active first with a tune-up bout in February or March, which would of course be reasonable and make a lot of sense.
The 33-year-old Estrada (44-3, 28 KO) still holds the WBC super flyweight title, which the 24-year-old Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KO) actually vacated to move back down to flyweight, where he eventually won the WBO and IBF titles over two fights last year, most recently dominating Sunny Edwards to unify those belts on Dec. 16.
It’s a terrific fight that serious boxing fans universally want to see, even those who think Estrada may be past it, because there’s always a chance that a fighter as good as him isn’t, and it would be a new level of accomplishment for a Rodriguez opponent, too.