Boxing royalty Juan Francisco Estrada is set to make his long-anticipated return against one of the biggest talents in boxing. Will he find the strength for one last historic performance or will he pass the torch to the young prospect? Here is our Estrada vs Rodriguez prediction.
Estrada vs Rodriguez Prediction: El Gallo Returns After 18 Months
Juan Francisco Estrada Preview
Juan Francisco Estrada Romero is a Mexican boxer who has been fighting professionally since 2008. He is one of the most successful fighters of the modern age and has an unbelievable record of 44-3. Since the start of his career, ‘El Gallo' has been maneuvering through the weight classes, having fought for world titles in three divisions.
After winning 26 of his first 27 fights, Estrada was offered the opportunity to fight for the WBA light flyweight title but lost to Roman Gonzalez. Immediately after, he faced Brian Viloria for the WBA and WBO flyweight titles and won via split decision. He managed to defend the titles five times before moving up to super flyweight.
In 2018, he faced Srisaket Sor Rungvisai for his WBC and The Ring super flyweight titles and lost. This was his last defeat. The two met a year later in a rematch and Estrada became a two-division champion.
Since then, he managed to make three defenses while also beating Roman Gonzalez for the WBA super flyweight belt. However, he was stripped of his titles after 18 months of inactivity. He returned in late 2022 and beat Argi Cortes and Roman Gonzalez for the second time to win the vacant WBC belt back.
He has been on the sidelines for 18 months again, which gives his opponent a huge advantage. But before we talk about our Estrada vs Rodriguez prediction, let's look at the other fighter.
Jesse Rodriguez Preview
Jesse Rodriguez is a 24-year-old American boxer who has already cemented his name in the history books as a two-division world champion. He is undefeated with 19 wins and 12 knockouts.
Like his experienced opponent, Rodriguez has been moving up and down through the divisions since the start of his career. His first 14 fights were in light flyweight and then he was given a surprising opportunity to fight for a world title at super flyweight, which he accepted.
He defeated Carlos Cuadras and then defended the WBC title twice before stepping down to flyweight. He beat Christian Gonzalez for the WBO flyweight belt and then Sunny Edwards to add the IBF version to his collection. Jesse decided to vacate his titles after he was offered to fight Estrada for his WBC super flyweight championship.
Our Juan Francisco Estrada vs Jesse Rodriguez Prediction: A Bad Time to Face Rodriguez
Bookmakers and boxing experts agree that the young ‘Bam' is a huge favorite ahead of this contest. And we have to agree with them for our Estrada vs Rodriguez prediction.
There are several reasons behind our decision. Firstly, there is a 10-year age gap between the two fighters. The Mexican has also not fought in 18 months. The youngster has the advantage in speed and power and he is in perfect shape.
Of course, we should never rule Estrada out as he has faced some of the all-time greats in the lightest divisions. He has the skillset to beat anyone but this is the wrong time to face Bam. Even if the American fails to knock El Gallo out, we will see his hand raised once the fight is over.
