Ninth-Round TKO Earns Bam Rodriguez Another Belt

Following Oleksandr Usyk’s impressive fifth-round stoppage win over Daniel Dubois, and the surprising performance and disappointing robbery of Manny Pacquiao, held to a draw against Mario Barrios, it’s a shame the sensational TKO win by WBC World Super Flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez was virtually overlooked on Saturday.

Bam Rodriguez knows how to put on a show and a master class in boxing. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

Bam Rodriguez of San Antonio, Texas (22-0, 15 KOs) delighted the Texas fans on hand at The Star in Frisco, Texas including Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, taking WBO champion Phumelele Cafu of South Africa (11-1-3, 8 KOs) apart and taking his belt to unify the WBC and WBO titles plus the Ring Magazine belt.

“I was very happy with my performance,” said Rodriguez of the victory, handing Cafu his first loss and first stoppage. “This was probably my best performance to date.”

Bam Rodriguez Busts Up Cafu’s Game Plan

Phemelele Cafu thought he could take apart Bam Rodriguez’s offense by leaving no room for angles. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

Cafu promised before the fight that he would not run. Trainer Robert Garcia said he prepared Rodriguez to deal with a skilled counterpuncher. Cafu’s game plan included positioning himself against the corners, taking away Rodriguez’s Pacquaio-esque punching angles, where he could counterpunch with less concern about what was coming at him.

What Cafu didn’t count on was Rodriguez’s ability to adjust to what he had to work with in front of him. Rodriguez was happy to stand in front of Cafu and grind him down, round after round. Cafu found himself hemmed in, with no escape route from the Bam offensive onslaught.’

Watch Bam Rodriguez doing what he does best in fight highlights.

It didn’t go so well for Cafu. Rodriguez worked him over with body shots, mixing in power punches and continuing to increase the pressure like a boa constrictor suffocating its prey.

“I didn’t expect him to take as many punches as he did,” admitted Rodriguez. “But I was determined to get him out of there.”

Cafu was competitive, even though he wasn’t winning the rounds. Rodriguez could not take his effort for granted.

Rodriguez Continues To Improve at Age 25

Referee Walter Afu separates Bam Rodriguez and Phumelele Cafu after Cafu tried to hold and both men fell after Cafu was hurt in round nine. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

In the ninth round, the accumulated damage from the eight previous rounds left Cafu vulnerable. Rodriguez caught him with a five-punch combination of hard hooks to the head, leaving Cafu on wobbly legs. Cafu was on the move with Rodrigez pursuing him. He managed to survive the round.

But Rodriguez was ready to serve up the same punishment in round ten. He didn’t get overeager, simply going back to work. The end came from a hard right hook. Cafu didn’t actually get knocked down, as he stumbled and tried to hold Rodriguez. Referee Hector Afu correctly let things go and finally broke the fighters to let them settle.

Cafu’s corner had seen enough and asked the fight to be stopped at 2:05 of the tenth round. It was a skilled, surgical, smart performance by Rodriguez. Remember, he’s still just 25 years old.

Bam Rodriguez signs gloves for Phumelela Cafu after their WBC, WBO, and Ring Magazine super flyweight fight on Saturday. He wrote, “Good Fight Champ!” Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

Rodriguez gave Cafu credit for a good effort. “He used the ring well and caught me with a few good shots. I took them well and just did what I had to do.”

Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn pointed out that boxing fans saw the world’s number one pound-for-pound boxer, Oleksandr Usyk, earlier in the day, then declared Rodriguez number two.

Bam Rodriguez celebrates his win on fight night with Team Garcia (L to R) Mikey Garcia, Rodriguez, Robert Garcia, and stablemate and fellow Texan Vergil Ortiz Jr. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

It’s a lofty position given the other names in the mix such as Inoue, Bivol, Crawford, Canelo, Nakatani, and the like. But if Bam Rodriguez continues to dispatch his opponents like he did Cafu and deliver crowd-pleasing, highly skilled fights, he’ll get there soon enough.

Now, Rodriguez will try to add a third belt in the division when he fights with unbeaten WBA champion Fernando Martinez of Mexico (18-0, 9 KOs) in Saudi Arabia on November 22. Rodriguez simply said, “Bring on Martinez!”

READ MORE: Manny Pacquiao Returns, Settles For Draw Against Barrios

Undercard Results: Pacheco Wins With Ease Over McCumby

Diego Pacheco and Trevor McCumby fought a bloody battle. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

In the co-feature, super middleweight Diego Pacheco (24-0, 18 KOs) held off Trevor McCumby of Yorkville, Illinois (28-2, 21 KOs), going all ten rounds and winning a wide decision victory.

Scores were 120-108, 119-109, and 119-109. This wasn’t one of Pacheco’s thrillers. He was in full control, disarming McCumby and content to outbox him round after round. Pacheco packed his lunchpail, showed up at work, and got down to it.

It is worth pointing out how much easier Diego Pacheco defeated Trevor McCumby compared to Caleb Plant. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

The only excitement was a wicked vertical cut above McCumby’s left eye, caused by a headbutt just a minute into the second round. It wasn’t long before McCumby’s face was covered in blood. Fortunately, the blood seemed to run down the side of McCumby’s nose and not completely obscure his vision. It looked bad, but the fight continued with McCumby’s face looking a mess by the final bell.

It is worth pointing out how much more easily Pacheco took care of McCumby than Caleb Plant, who was knocked down and had to dig deep to get his win over McCumby. So there’s at least that.

Pacheco is fortunate that most attention was turned to London and Las Vegas on Saturday. This is not the sort of fight that inspires fans.

Ammo Williams Fights Hard, Fights Smart

Austin Williams and his former sparring partner Ivan Vazquez showed no mercy toward each other Saturday. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

Middleweight Austin Williams of Milwaukee (19-1, 13 KOs) looked sensational in a knockout victory over late replacement and former sparring partner Ivan Vazquez of Houston (11-1-2, 8 KOs).

Williams showed no favors to a man he considers a friend. But neither did Vazquez. The pair went to war, holding nothing back in a banger of a fight. It’s not often that a fighter lands over 50% of their power punches and loses.

But Vazquez had never fought a ten-round fight, and he emptied the gas tank a little too early. Williams managed his effort and as Vazquez started to fade in the eighth round, Williams went after him. Williams stopped an exhausted Vazquez 36 seconds into the ninth round.

Vazquez landed 53% of his power punches and landed 31 more body punches than Williams. But Williams landed 46% of his own power punches, and he was ready when it counted later in the fight.

Williams had a point taken in the third round for repeated low blows, which he threw in response to a successful body attack early by Vazquez. But he made it irrelevant by taking the fight away from the judges.

Body Shot Gets the KO for Omari Jones

Omari Jones drilled Alfredo Rodolfo Blanco to the body, leaving him in pain on the canvas. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom

On the other hand, super welterweight prospect and Olympic bronze medalist Omari Jones of Orlando (3-0, 3 KOs) made it three for three, scoring his second straight body shot knockout over Alfredo Rodolfo Blanco of Argentina (24-15, 11 KOs).

Jones caught Blanco at the end of the first round with a left check hook counterpunch so fast it was hard to figure out how Blanco got knocked down. Blanco carried on until Jones nailed him with the left hook to the liver halfway through the third round. Blanco crumbled and tried to fight off the pain and get up, but his night was over.

Nishant Dev Gets His Second Stoppage

Nishant Dev got his second TKO win over LaQuan Evans. Photo: Melina Pizano/ Matchroom Bam Rodriguez

Super middleweight prospect Nishant Dev of India (3-0, 2 KOs) added his second professional knockout win against LaQuan Evans of Philadelphia (5-6, 2 KOs). Dev put on a determined effort against Evans and wore him down until a hard straight right hand landed, rocking Evans and causing referee Laurence Cole to step in and stop the fight in the sixth and final round.