WBC Special Preview: Rodriguez vs Guevara
Bam vs Pedrin – War Of The AgesBy James Blears
Age isn’t a number in boxing, at which you don’t play, it’s been said sensibly.
This is a factor to mull over and carefully consider, viz the intriguing fight between WBC super-flyweight champion Jesse ‘’Bam Rodriguez (20-0, 13KO), who is fighting a mandatory defence against Pedro ‘’Pedrin’’ Guevara (42-4-1, 22KO) on November 9th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Southpaw Rodriguez is still a youthful 24-years-young, bursting with energy, Joi de vie, vim and vitality. His unbeaten record includes 13 KO’s, which totals to a 65% KO ratio, and he’s been in a hurry to win the WBC flyweight and super-flyweight titles. So far, he’s fought in 110 rounds, which is considerably dwarfed by his opponent, who is more than a decade his senior.
Pedro is 35. His record is 42-4-1, 22 KO’s. His KO percentage is 52%. He’s fought 329 rounds, three times as much as his 48th foe.
However, the ‘’Old Un’’ is still a ‘’Good Un’’, proven by his two successive wins in February and May this year.
He learned valuable lessons from his early IBF challenge to John Riel Casimero in his home town of Mazatlan. Down in the first from a left hook, he got up to lose a SD. But that was just the end of the beginning. That was in 2012, when Bam Rodriguez was just 12-years-old
Some boxers are at their finest when they’re youthful, but then fade quickly as they age. They flare up like a match, burn bright and then crinkle, burning their fingers and clenched fists as the flame tapers down. While others improve with age like a fine wine, cognac or single malt whisky.
Part of it is to do with how they train, take care of their bodies, live the life and refrain from the heady temptations delivered on an enticing silver platter as the fruit slithers of success. Some are boxers, rather than fighters, and don’t absorb as much wear and tear along the long hard road to the beanstalk. Floyd Mayweather, for example, lived the life and barely took a big shot during his 50 fights.
It’s been 10 years since Pedro won the WBC light-flyweight Green and Gold Belt, left vacant by a growing Naoya Inoue. In his first foray outside Mexico, Pedro went to Japan to defeat Akira Yaegashi with a crunching left hook to the body in round seven.
Two successful defences followed. He polished off overmatched Richard Claveras in round one and then a UD victory over mandatory challenger and compatriot Ganigan Lopez. But then, he lost his crown to Yu Kimura via a SD. He bounced back to win the next four, but then lost a MD to Kenshiro Teraji for the WBC light flyweight title.
Opportunity finally came knocking again and it was at last year’s WBC Convention when he and fellow Sinaloan Carlos ‘’El Principe’’ Cuadras fought for the WBC Interim super flyweight title. Pedro, who had come down with a fever and a rising temperature which hampered him, was knocked down in rounds two and six, but fought back valiantly to lose via SD.
Carlos was then scheduled to fight for the vacant Interim title but suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in training and fate and accompanying destiny provided Pedro an opportunity to go to Perth in Australia and to defeat Andrew Maloney via SD, slowing down and neutralizing the speedster with some clouting body shots.
Pedro cheerfully says he knows he’s the underdog for this upcoming fight against Bam, which motivates and fires him up no end.
So, to bridge the age gap, he’s been undergoing a spartan training regime perched in the chilly altitude climates of Jilotepec, Estado de Mexico, for the best part of three months.
He was going to fight on October 11th and had already spent three weeks out there. But then the Bam fight was successfully negotiated and he’s therefore added the extra time on.
Pedro sees this as his second coming and is determined to exploit what he’s convinced is the good fortune of this Autumnal and God given chance.
He now confronts Bam, who most recently blasted out Juan Francisco ‘’Gallo’’ Estrado, who, at 34, is no0 spring chicken ether.
In June, after an almost two-years hiatus, Gallo who had lost his edge due to ring rustiness, conceded his WBC super-flyweight strap to Rodriguez, not being able to recover from a monumental left hook rib-rippler to the body in round seven.
Prior to this, he had been decked in round four and defiantly returned the favour in round six as Rodriguez became momentarily careless. It didn’t check Bam’s relentless progress. Gallo has since decided to campaign up at bantamweight.
Rodriguez has been getting better and better, inflicting a series of grand slams. Fighting CC on only days of notice and moving up from fly to super-fly, he adjusted brilliantly and dropped Carlos in round three on the way to a convincing UD victory for the vacant WBC title.
Then, former champion and fellow southpaw, Sri Saket Sor Rungvisai, who he decked with a numbing left hook in the seventh stanza, then finished off in the following round with a TKO in June 2022.
A successful defence via a UD win over durable Israel Gonzalez followed less then three months later in September 2022.
Back to flyweight in April 2023 to take on Cristian Gonzalez for the WBO title, vacated by Junto Nakatani and a painful jolt, which proved a test of character as well as fortitude, because he suffered a broken jaw in the sixth but soldiered on to win a UD, then needing surgery.
In defeating Sunny Edwards last December, he added the IBF title. Briton Sunny suffered a fracture of the left medial orbital bone in the second from a searing right southpaw lead and was thereafter seeing double.
‘Showtime’ Sunny was dropped by a straight left in the eighth and his corner wisely pulled him out at the end of the ninth. He’d also collected a gash over and under his left eye and a nick on the bridge of his nose.
Then it was Gallo Estrada’s turn to be overwhelmed this year.
Gallo decided to try and fight fire with fire and the toe-to-toe action forced him back on the ropes. He abandoned his boxing repertoire and it cost him dearly.
Pedro says he’s determined not to follow a similar going to war course. He says he’s going to be fast, aiming to be slick, using his jab and trying his utmost to give the youngster a tempered pot-shotting comprehensive boxing lesson, while avoiding mistakes and focusing, by drawing upon availing himself of all the guile his accumulated experience gained from the school of hard knocks over the years.
He’s carefully studied Jesse James Bam Rodriguez and says he won’t get involved in a ‘’Gun slinging’’ OK Coral firepower brawl. Pedro is durable and resourceful. He’s never been stopped during his long career, which started way back in 2008.
He says he’s going to wrap up warm for the early onset of winter on the US Eastern seaboard and he will be focused on what’s surely coming his way.
Busy Bam Rodriguez is not infallible, but at his age he appears to be infatigable.
Betting Odds
Bam 1/14
Pedro 12/1
Draw 25/1
Prediction
Bam Rodriguez is the bookies strong favourite for a reason. He’s stopped his last two opponents before the championship rounds and I expect the same to happen here, but Guevara has never been stopped before in 47 bouts, so there’s a good chance it goes the distance.
I can see this being a great fight, but one that Rodriguez will be in control of, fighting at his pace, and at some point he is going to land those bruising shots in those awkward angles to penetrate Pedro’s shield and cause damage to eventually wear him down. I can see a body shot from Bam dropping Pedro at some point.
Being bold, I predict a stoppage win to Bam in the final third – rounds 9-12. Whatever happens, I can’t see past victory no.21 for Rodriguez.
WBC Top 10 super-flyweight champions
1. Gilberto Roman (Mexico)
2. Santos Laciar (Argentina)
3. Jiro Watanabe (Japan)
4. Chulho Kim (Korea)
5. Cristian Mijares (Mexico)
6. Gerry Peñalosa (Philippines)
7. Sungkil Moon (Korea)
8. Rafael Orono (Venezuela)
9. Carlos Cuadras (Mexico)
10. Jose Luis Bueno (Mexico)