On Saturday, November 9th, WBC and Ring Magazine super flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) will defend his title against WBC interim super flyweight champion Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Credit: Matchroom Boxing)
The match is set as the co-feature on the Jarron Ennis versus Karen Chukhadzhian card. Jesse is ranked number 7 on Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound list. At the age of 24, he will only ascend with time as his resume grows. He has the potential to be an all-time great.
Pedro Guevara has a very challenging match in front of him, possibly the most challenging of his career. In his 48th professional bout, he faces an opponent in Rodriguez, who has the highest power connect percentage in the sport at 49.1 percent.
Bam has achieved this against elite-level competition, overpowering the likes of Juan Francisco Estrada, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Sunny Edwards, and Carlos Cuadras. He is also a very defensively sound boxer with a plus/minus difference of +20.3; his agility and elusive leg movement make him a difficult target to hit (Compubox). Guevara has demonstrated difficulties against mobile boxers.
He was able to edge out Andrew Moloney in a controversial split decision victory in May. Moloney created difficulties by becoming a mobile target, preventing Guevara from landing clean punches. Bam will only pose a bigger challenge and a much more difficult target to hit.
Jesse Rodriguez, similarly to Vasiliy Lomachenko, knows how to masterfully create angles and control the range, and dissect opponents with precision. Bam will exploit Guevara’s mobility and land with precision, utilizing his underrated speed and quickness. He’s been able to exploit his elite-level competition, and Guevara should be no different.
Bam is 11 years younger and appears to hold an advantage in almost every category – – speed, power, agility, and accuracy. Guevara has decent power but has not scored a knockout victory since July of 2021 when he beat Samuel Gutierrez Hernandez by technical knockout in the third round. It’s very unlikely Guevara outpoints Rodriguez, and a knockout may pose extremely challenging.
This is Bam’s fight to lose. He’s been tested early in his career accepting a fight against Carlos Cuadras on five days’ notice, while moving up two weight classes. He picked Cuadras apart, dropping him in the third enroute to a unanimous decision victory. Becoming champion at the young age of 22. Guevara also fought Cuadras last November in what was a close bout. Guevara suffered a second-round knockdown, possibly costing him the match, losing on a split decision.
Bam must simply go out and execute his gameplan, and not get careless or overconfident. He should be able to dictate the match and possibly stop Guevara early.
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