Bam Rodriguez Stops Antonio Vargas, Thrills Fans Saturday

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is now a three division at age 26. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Matchroom Boxing Bam Rodriguez
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is now a three division at age 26. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Matchroom Boxing
by Gayle Falkenthal, Boxing Editor

What to Know

  • Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez won a third division title Saturday, stopping Antonio Vargas to win the WBA World Bantamweight championship.
  • Vargas started well, but Rodriguez worked behind hard body shots and southpaw left hooks to break Vargas down.
  • Bam Rodriguez looks ready to take on undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue of Japan, but may take a unification fight at 118 pounds first.

Bam Rodriguez of San Antonio, Texas, gave disappointed Spurs fans something to cheer about on Saturday.

Jesse Rodriguez (24-0, 17 KOs) won his third division title, proving he’s got just as much speed, footwork, and power at 118 pounds as he did at 112 and 115 pounds. Rodriguez worked the angles and set up his victory with impressive body punches to stop WBA World Bantamweight champion Antonio Vargas of Kissimmee, Florida (19-2-1, 11 KOs) in six rounds at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

“I felt like I did everything right. Me and my team, we knew that was the outcome,” said Rodriguez. “Antonio Vargas, he was a lot tougher than I expected. He had a good pop in his punch too, so I had to stay careful the whole six rounds, but thankfully I was able to get him out there in the six, and that’s all she wrote.”

Solid Test From Vargas Passed by Rodriguez

The southpaw left hook was the money punch for Bam Rodriguez. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Matchroom Boxing
The southpaw left hook was the money punch for Bam Rodriguez. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Matchroom Boxing

In front of a sellout crowd in what he calls his second home, Rodriguez got a solid challenge from the champion, but Bam has too many tools and the power to make it stick. He scored his first knockdown on a combination with a throwaway jab, pivoting to land a perfect southpaw left hook with the knuckles turned over.

It didn’t seem like Vargas would be able to get up and beat the count, but he did. The knockdown happened early in the round. Vargas gets a lot of credit for surviving two more minutes of hard punishment.

But the damage was done. It took less than a minute into the next round for Rodriguez to close the deal. A hard left hook wobbled Vargas early. Seconds later, a four punch combination of right jab, left to the body, a second right and the game ended left hook put Vargas down hard. There was no chance he was getting up, with the fight ending at 1:15 of round six.

“I say it all the time, it just happens now,” explained Rodriguez. “I don’t even look for the punch, it just comes, and then I see the replay, and that’s it. I just go in there, I do me, and the knockouts come.” Rodriguez said he was surprised Vargas got up from the first knockdown.

With the second and final knockdown, Rodriguez said it came from an unexpected effort.

“I never really throw combinations like that. I was a four punch combination, and the one time I do throw it, it knocks him out.”

How about a second look at that knockout? 

Is Bam Rodriguez Ready for The Monster?

Everyone in Glendale and everyone watching at home knew the questions were coming. Is Rodriguez ready for Naoya Inoue in a fight between two of the best men in boxing? Rodriguez declined to say yes, only that he would look to Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn and trainer Robert Garcia to make that call.

“Whoever they say, throw in front of me, and I’m going to say yes. Eddie knows that. My team knows that … They throw a name at me, I say yes right away, it don’t matter who it is or where it is, I’m ready.”

Hearn didn’t waste an opportunity to hype the potential matchup, but expressed some caution. “The deal’s got to be right, the offer’s got to be right. I know Bam will do it, no question, and Robert will do it as well. But we’ve got a long-term future in the sport, belts to collect at 118 pounds. But for me that fight is inevitable,” said Hearn.

Robert Garcia has expressed his preference to see Rodriguez take one more fight at bantamweight before taking on Inoue. The most likely opponent: a unification fight with WBO World Bantamweight champion Christian Medina of Guadalajara, also signed to Matchroom, and easy to make.

Cardenas Applies Lessons Learned in Rematch with Martinez

In the co-main event rematch, the local bragging rights and WBC Continental Americas Super-Bantamweight title went to Arturo Cardenas (18-0-2, 9 KOs), a native of Mexico based in Phoenix, with a solid decision victory over Jordan Martinez of Phoenix (16-1-1, 15 KOs), taking his first loss. Scores were 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93, with no controversy here.

As promised, the fight delivered nonstop action for the thrilled fans at the Desert Diamond Arena. Both Cardenas and Martinez each felt they won their first fight which ended in a draw. Both promised a knockout, but the two men were plenty tough. Body punching made the difference for Cardenas in true Mexican style. He had terrific stamina, although Martinez hung in tough to the final bell.

Cardenas said he knew he had to get off to a faster start in the rematch. “Since the third, fourth round, I gave him a good health shot, I saw he was about to throw up” from a hard body shot, said Cardenas. “We gave a good fight to all the fans.”

Elif Nur Turhan Edges Past Impressive Gabriela Tellez

Gabriela Tellez was disappointed with the loss, but she left a big impression with her performance against Elif Nur Turhan. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Matchroom Boxing Bam Rodriguez
Gabriela Tellez was disappointed with the loss, but she left a big impression with her performance against Elif Nur Turhan. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Matchroom Boxing

Elif Nur Turhan of Turkey (14-0, 8 KOs) will take her IBF World Lightweight title home with her from Glendale, but she was fortunate to edge past an impressive performance from 19-year-old challenger Gabriella Tellez of San Antonio (7-1, 3 KOs). Scores were a razor-thin 96-94 on all three cards.

Tellez took on a massive challenge against the power puncher Turhan, and more than held her own with impressive boxing skills and more than enough power to force Turhan to dig deep to get the victory.

Tellez, trained by Jose Benavidez Sr., employed excellent boxing skills to control Turhan and set up her power punches. She was not overwhelmed at any point, and her maturity combined with her skills will take her a long way. Although Tellez was disappointed by the loss, she announced herself as a serious contender and someone to watch in the lightweight division with plenty of opportunities waiting for her.

Terraza Takes Out Rodriguez In Two

Both Phoenix-based fighters in the opening bout promised a knockout. It was Elias Terraza who delivered (14-0, 9 KOs) with an impressive second-round TKO win over fellow undefeated lightweight Adrian Rodriguez of Glendale (10-1, 6 KOs). Terraza was aggressive and accurate, coming straight at Rodriguez and making his punches pay off.