JESSE RODRIGUEZ he became known as one of the best warriors in the world.

The 24-year-old has been making his way through the lower weight classes since winning his first world title in February 2022, and after a devastating seventh-round victory over Mexican legend Juan Francisco Estrada in May this year, ‘Bama’s meteoric rise to fame shows that there are slight signs of slowdown.

“Yes. It was a great fight. I feel like it was my best performance so far in my career,” Rodriguez said Boxing news.

“Especially against an opponent like Estrada. He’s a legend in all of boxing, so to treat him the way I did says a lot about who I am.

“This [the Estrada fight] it was a little different just because it was his territory, being in Phoenix, but I handled it well too. So, like I said, it just shows that not only as a fighter, but as a person, this is who I am.”

A fight with Estrada would give Rodriguez a chance to showcase a side of his game that hasn’t been required before: his drive.

Billed as a “Passing of the Torch” between vintage and modern generations, the action itself lived up to the lofty pre-fight expectations. Estrada was knocked down in the fourth round before returning the favor in the sixth; he sent Rodriguez to the canvas for the first time in his career with a pointed right hand.

“Yes. I mean, it was a learning experience,” Rodriguez smiles.

“Now that I look back, I should have listened to my coaches. They told me not to get too comfortable: that’s what I did. That’s why I ended up on the canvas. I just have to draw conclusions, pay attention, not be inactive and just listen to the coach all the time.

The lesson has been learned. Quick. After stabilizing the ship in the sixth set, Rodriguez finished the round on top, then in the remaining seconds of the seventh, he delivered a crushing left uppercut to the mid-section where Estrada went down again. This time the referee counted to 10 as “El Gallo” lay flat on his back and writhed in agony and Rodriguez was elated.

Estrada, a proud champion making the first stoppage in his storied 48-fight career, quickly signaled his intention to invoke his contracted rematch clause. Of course, he was the first to take Rodriguez down, and for at least part of the fight he was as competitive as anyone on ‘Bama.

However, the rematch would not take place; and Estrada decided to go in a different direction as he neared the end of his Hall of Fame-worthy career. Who could blame him? Especially when we remember again the sickening impact of the body shot that amazingly ended his reign as champion.

“Oh yes, that’s what we expected [the immediate rematch] right after the fight.

“It was already written in the contract that there would be a rematch. I mean, we waited about two months to find out he pulled out and that’s why we ended up here fighting Pedro Guevara. [in Philadelphia on November 9]. But I mean, that’s the way it is. It’s his decision. Ultimately, I have to be respectful.”

Estrada’s withdrawal means Rodriguez will face Mexican Guevara, who, although coming off a career-best win following his last win over Australian Andrew Moloney, is a far cry from the top-flight opponents who have brought the best out of Rodriguez so far.

Nevertheless, “Bam” remains focused on repeating his stellar performances against some of the sport’s top names, although he will enter the fight as the clear favorite. For most, the only question is how decisively Rodriguez will get rid of Guevara, which will be an unimaginable failure.

“I feel like for others it’s an exhibition fight, but for me it’s as unsafe as my previous two fights. I’m on pound for pound list, so I have to go out there and correct it.

“I don’t want to try too strenuous to look impressive. I just have to go out there and approach this fight like I would any other fight. In my last two fights I performed as well as I need to do on November 9. Come fight night, I’ll be ready to operate what I’ve learned from these fights and I’ll be more ready mentally and physically.”

Rodriguez’s return also means he will be one half of a tantalizing modern “double act” alongside IBF welterweight champion and promotional stablemate Jaron “Boots” Ennis. The duo, both associated with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, are widely regarded as two of the future superstars of American and even world boxing.

With the event taking place at the 21,000-capacity Wells Fargo Center in Ennis’ hometown of Philadelphia, Rodriguez himself is excited to showcase his talents to a modern audience, this time on America’s East Coast. To do so alongside another fighter of Ennis’ caliber is another welcome bonus.

“This is a huge opportunity for me, not only to fight on a large card, but also to show my fighting style on the East Coast.

“I have never fought on the East Coast, even as an amateur. “It’s a chance to showcase my skills, my career, and to share it with ‘Boots’ – one of the best in all of boxing – it’s an honor.”

The pairing of two of boxing’s top talents has been largely well-received by boxing fans, with “Boots/Bam” joining “GGG/Chocolatito” and more recently “Benavidez/Tank” as a infrequent opportunity to see the two stars – the fighters are apparently content to share spotlights.

However, there is no hiding the fact that both Ennis and Rodriguez enter their fights as clear favorites. While Ennis has so far struggled to secure fights against the biggest names in the welterweight division, Rodriguez has already boasted a string of top-level victories in his relatively tiny top-level career.

After dominant victories over three of the consensus “Four Kings” in the super flyweight division: Carlos Cuadras, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and the aforementioned Estrada, there remains one name that has eluded Rodriguez so far: Nicaraguan great Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.

It was previously believed that the fight with Gonzalez did not take place, in accordance with the will of Teiken Promotions the mighty Akihiko Honda, who promotes both Rodriguez (alongside Matchroom Boxing) and Chocolatito.

However, recent reports suggest that the fantasy matchup could be back on the table, potentially in 2025 in Saudi Arabia. Although “Bam” quickly denied these reports as “phony news”, he did not rule out a future fight with the legendary four-weight world champion.

“Yeah, I mean, it was kind of phony news. Robert [Garcia] he explained it on Twitter. He said: If there are no unification fights after this fight [Guevara]this is a fight we would be interested in if he did [Gonzalez] is also with this.

“So, if it happens, it happens. If not, there are other fighters I want to fight.”

Rodriguez’s emergence as an elite operator coincided with another rise to power in boxing.

Turki Alalshikh, head of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Entertainment, quickly established himself as a key figure in the sport with the launch of the Saudi season in Riyadh events. There are rumors about Rodriguez playing in Riyad during the season card in the near future, it’s an option that not only appeals to the San Antonio native, but is already included in the terms of his contract.

“I have signed a modern contract with Matchroom and [fighting in] Saudi Arabia is indeed included in the agreement,” Rodriguez confirmed BN. “If I’m fighting there, they have my bag ready. This is another place I would like to fight.”

With Saudi Arabia already hosting two undisputed title fights in Fury vs. Usyk and Beterbiev vs. Bivol in 2024 alone, Rodriguez hopes the riches offered by Alalshikh and GEA will allow him to earn his own shot at unifying all four belts at 115 pounds department.

“I feel like if it were up to me, I would fight [WBA and IBF champion Fernando Daniel] Martinez there [in Saudi]focus on indisputability. It would be a great fight.”

Whether the future involves a trip to Arabia, San Antonio, or somewhere in between, Rodriguez, at just 24 years vintage, has already established himself as one of the hottest talents of a generation.

The desert might be the best place for him.

BOXING is the Wild West. Or rather, as legendary journalist Jimmy Cannon once said, “Boxing is the red lightweight district of professional sports.”

In any case, it is a sport that deserves the utmost integrity and oversight, protecting competitors from the catastrophic risks associated with their craft.

And yet, in the absence of an overarching governing body to set standards, after all these years there is no effective deterrent when an athlete’s safety is compromised by the exploit of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Instead of addressing this issue with a high degree of consideration and urgency, the sport has, quite astonishingly, strayed even further from a place of purity where, still, despite the best efforts of those who want to effect change, the rules enforced by each committee remain fundamentally unclear.

Anyone not connected to boxing will ask why Ryan Garcia, an athlete banned by the Up-to-date York State Athletic Commission earlier this year, was given a chance to remain lively.

Of course, his next fight, which will take place on December 30, will only be an exhibition and not a professional fight. Despite this, the 26-year-old will be financially rewarded at a time when his so-called penalty.

What’s more, it’s somewhat astonishing that Garcia, who tested positive for ostarine following his controversial fight with Devin Haney, only received a one-year ban.

As with most scorching fighters, his defense was that trace amounts of the substance were found in his system, indicating that he didn’t actually have an artificial advantage over Haney. However, this excuse, even though it has been used many times, only seems to raise further questions.

First, how did the substance end up in his system? And, perhaps more importantly, what if Garcia had used microdosing techniques – taking smaller doses of ostarine throughout training camp – to circumvent the tests?

In other sports, these questions would be addressed by the governing body responsible for making an informed decision about what happens if an athlete tests positive for PEDs. However, in boxing, a fighter who has been banned by the commission is given the freedom to explore other options – hence Garcia’s exhibition.

This is a problem that fans have tried to deal with, but whose complexity only creates more frustration.

Ultimately, the solution is clear: we need a recognized organization that will have jurisdiction over the entire sport. However, given boxing’s archaic structure, this demand is, well, quite unrealistic.

However, instead of burying our heads in the sand, shouldn’t we pave a path that will at least lead us to a more desirable state of affairs?

Boxing newsafter all, it was based on the same ambition – to see boxing as a good, tidy sport – when John Murray founded its flagship publication in 1909.

That’s why now, more than ever, it’s critical that Murray’s words are at the epicenter of the sport’s fight against PEDs.

As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest problems with drug testing is that once a fighter is found guilty, his punishment is rarely severe enough to discourage other fighters from following suit.

And this can actually be largely explained by the lack of coherence between individual committees.

But what if the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA), a trusted organization widely considered the gold standard in drug testing, actually had the authority to act on its findings?

In this sense, every commission around the world, whether they like it or not, would be obliged to adopt VADA’s position on PEDs.

Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but which other organization has the authority to take on such a huge responsibility?

In turn, VADA would be able to alleviate some of the pressure that individual commissions are currently under by eliminating the drawn-out disputes into which militants are often drawn.

Take for example the situation between Conor Benn and the British Boxing Board of Control. Would it instead be wiser for VADA to enforce the ruling based on its own findings?

This way, at least we would know that a group of experts – with extensive knowledge of drug testing – made a decision based solely on scientific evidence, whether anyone agrees with it or not.

Of course, getting two organizations to agree on something is never simple in any industry, let alone boxing.

However, if the world’s leading commissions trusted VADA and agreed to support any rulings made, then boxing would certainly be in a much healthier place.

That said, the legal ramifications that have emerged from the various failed tests conducted in recent years are a very different story, potentially giving VADA less incentive to continue to boost its involvement in boxing – a sport that continues to amaze even the most desensitized fighters. fans.

Last week I held the iconic boxing glove in my hands.

It was a relic of time, part of boxing’s opulent history, a gauntlet of infamy, and it seemed impossibly lightweight for such a ponderous object. Airy and lightweight in my hands. It is already desiccated, aged and one of the most stunning facilities in our industry.

This glove was once worn by Cassius Clay on his left hand during his fight with Henry Cooper at Wembley Stadium in 1963. Yes, a glove with a tear in the seam, a glove that has become part of our folklore. There are so many stories that it is complex to combine two stories into one whole.

It seems like everyone in boxing has seen the photo of Clay being thrown on his ass at the end of the fourth round; in the black and white photo you can clearly see the tear in the seam, the lining sticking out, Clay’s eyes are wide open and his future is frozen at this point.

The bell rings and a few seconds later, Angelo Dundee in Clay’s corner goes to work. Dundee noticed a slight tear at the end of the first round; at the end of the fourth, as Clay still dazedly sits down, Dundee tears open the rip and starts screaming about the cut glove. He wants to take some time to get his fighter through the next round. At the center of the storm was a glove, the same one I held last week. Like I said, so compact and so huge at the same time.

“Cassius looked like he had nothing to do with it anymore,” Dundee always said. There was pandemonium at Wembley and in the ring. Dundee brings out the table salt and shakes Clay before soaking him and punching him. This is a pivotal moment in the life and times of Muhammad Ali – he must win.

And then Dundee uses her magic to facilitate save her guy. And that’s where the stories begin – it all started with Dundee putting a finger or two into that glove. He needed a little extra time to facilitate his boxer, and there are many versions of the “time” he needed. We love unbelievable boxing stories, and the timeline of split glove events has become unbelievable over the years.

“I saw a compact cut along the seam of the boxing glove,” Dundee said. “I put my finger in the crack, helping her. Now it was a bigger split.”

Referee Tommy Little and Teddy Waltham of the British Boxing Board of Control inspected the glove. Dundee builds time by demanding fresh gloves. The glove was never changed, it’s part of a fantastic story where Clay has five minutes to recover: It never happened.

“I examined the glove and I’m sure it was a natural tear in the seam,” Waltham said, and the quote appeared in the newspapers the next day. And this is an significant quote that cannot be ignored.

Meanwhile, Dundee is fighting for time at cornerback. “Sure I wanted a fresh pair of gloves, but hopefully not too soon.” Fresh gloves were found, ready in case they needed to be replaced at the end of the fifth round. The drama in that ring from the moment Cooper’s left hook landed at the end of the fourth round to the moment the bell rang for round five was unbearable.

In the fifth, as the action begins, it’s obvious that Clay’s head has cleared. One photo shows the polished and clear knuckle portion of the left glove and there is a perceptible cut along the edge, down the seam. Seconds later, Cooper is slashed and slashed, with blood everywhere. Little needs to step in; Clay survived and triumphed, and the story of the gauntlet begins on a bloody night.

Copper is saved at 2:25 of the fifth round, his face is blurred, but his resistance remains. The blood covering his face and torso and the left hook from the fourth fighter quickly become a distant, desperate moment in his boxing life. “I have no regrets,” Cooper repeated until his death. He loved Ali, they loved each other, but that night he was so close to glory. I never once believed him when he said he had “no regrets.” The glove is a reminder of all the regrets he never had.

This is also the glove that was at the center of Ali’s exhibition; in a glass case on opening night at the O2 in London, the Bellagio in Las Vegas and the Beverley Center in Los Angeles. Millions of eyes gazed at this minuscule glove, once red and brilliant. More tours are planned, and the gauntlet I held last week will return to the heart of the exhibition; it remains a great reminder of the man and a direct physical connection to him.

Now we just need to find the shoes Julius Francis was wearing when he met Mike Tyson in Manchester in 2000. “I think so [Kellie] Maloney donated it to a charity,” Francis told me recently.

They should be effortless to spot – white shoes, spattered with blood, size 14, with the Daily Mirror logo on the sole. No confusion; just like Clay’s glove – the tear in the seam burns as brightly as a newspaper logo and it’s strenuous to tear yourself away from all the facts.

And finally, how long did it take for Dundee to buy its fighter? Who cares, it’s a great story, one of our rituals. Cooper says minutes, others say less than a minute, and some, like me, think it was seconds.