Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the WBO World Flyweight champ, brought the curtains down on IBF champ “Showtime” Sunny Edwards in a title unifier that had more sparks than a 4th of July fireworks show. This showdown unraveled at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, where the crowd got more than their ticket’s worth. In the co-feature, it was a scene straight out of a thriller movie with Murodjon Akhmadaliev, the former IBF and WBA Super Bantamweight boss, halting the unbeaten streak of Kevin “Chacal” Gonzales in just 8 rounds.
In the main spectacle, our southpaw hero, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, with a record as clean as a whistle at 19-0 (12 KOs), and tipping the scales at 111.6 pounds, hailing from San Antonio, TX, put a full stop to “Showtime” Sunny Edwards’ show. Edwards, from across the pond in Sheffield, London, UK, matched Rodriguez in weight but not in might, seeing his 20-1 (4 KOs) record get its first smudge at the 0:01 mark of the tenth round in what was supposed to be a 12-round dance.
From the get-go, Rodriguez was on Edwards like a hawk, chasing him around the ring as if Edwards owed him money. Come the second round, Rodriguez delivered a body shot that probably had Edwards questioning his life choices. The third round was a nail-biter, with Edwards flipping the script, going southpaw, and landing a one-two punch that had Rodriguez tasting leather.
By the sixth round, things got heated enough to cook a steak. Referee Chris Flores had to step in to warn Rodriguez for a low blow. Rodriguez, unfazed, came back swinging, even sticking out his tongue in defiance as Edwards landed a few at the bell – talk about adding insult to injury!
The seventh round saw Edwards sporting cuts on both brows, looking more like he’d been in a bar brawl than a boxing fight. Fast forward to the ninth, and the ring physician was this close to calling it quits on account of Edwards’ cuts. But the real showstopper was in the tenth when Rodriguez landed a haymaker just as the referee waved it off, with Edwards’ corner almost throwing in the towel.
Talk about a war that’ll be etched in the memory of fans for years to come!