MORENO VALLEY, California – All eyes will soon be on Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, as the gifted unified junior bantamweight champion seeks a third belt June 13 in Arizona against WBA secondary bantamweight champion Antonio Vargas.
With a full house expected at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, and the global anticipation building that Rodriguez, 23-0 (16 KOs), is bound to next fight Naoya Inoue, Japan’s unbeaten four-division champion and pound-for-pound king, the San Antonio, Texas, fighter will draw the boxing equivalent of the attention his hometown Spurs’ appearance is attracting in the NBA Finals.
In typical low-key manner while talking to BoxingScene following his Thursday workout at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, Rodriguez seemed unmoved by the expected onslaught of interest coming his way.
What was most striking from the afternoon session was how affixed Rodriguez is on the everyday tasks, showcasing the laser-focused discipline performed by those at the top of the sport.
Whether it was the ferocity of his round-ending punches on the heavy bag or the precision of his shots on the lower half of the miniature speed bag, Rodriguez, 26, made clear he’s taken no shortcuts through the duration of this camp.
“That’s what I’m here to do, that’s why I come all the way here to Riverside from San Antonio,” Rodriguez said. “I’m not going to half-ass my workouts. I’m going to work each time I step into this gym.
“I’m getting better each time with the sparring I’m getting each camp. I’ll be ready to go fight night.”
The deeply religious Vargas, 19-1-1 (11 KOs), from Florida, said on the heels of surviving a hurtful knockdown versus Winston Guerrero in 2024, and fighting Japan’s Daigo Higa to a July draw in Japan, that he feels destined for the opportunity to meet Rodriguez.
Boxing observers know it will take something almost divine for 16/1 betting underdog Vargas to topple Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said he’s analyzed a few Vargas highlights, and has let trainer Garcia script the fight plan.
“I trust my team. I’m ready to go out and perform. There’s another belt on the line. The stakes are higher, but I’m ready to go,” Rodriguez said. “I like to just go out the first couple rounds and see what they bring to the table. You can go out and watch all the film in the world, and he can change his style up fight night. That’s why I do no film studying of my opponents, and just go out there to see what they bring.”
Rodriguez said he doesn’t feel obligated to annihilate Vargas given his position as prohibitive favorite with so many expecting a destructive showing to clinch the Inoue showdown.
“I just need to do what I need to each time I step inside the ring, and that’s win. That’s the main goal,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of people might not know who Antonio Vargas is, but my team and I know. He’s an Olympian, a world champion. We’re not taking it lightly at all. We’re here inside the gym giving it 100 per cent every day.”
Thursday’s gym session was overseen by so few: Garcia’s son, a conditioning coach and – from a distance – Rodriguez’s father.
The phrase that came to mind was John Wooden’s, “The true measure of your character is what you do when no one is watching.”
Rodriguez said, “it adds more fuel to the fire” knowing the type of electric audience he’s headed to in what will be his fourth title fight in the Greater Phoenix area.
“The fan base I’ve grown up before… it’s like my second home, Glendale and Phoenix,” he said. “I’ve had some of my biggest wins there, and the fact they appreciate me as much as I appreciate their state, I feel the love each time.”
As for the Inoue talk, Rodriguez said he awoke early to watch Inoue’s convincing victory over former unbeaten bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani last month.
“It was a great fight, I had Inoue up eight rounds to four. Inoue’s the pound-for-pound No. 1. He went out there and showed it,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez is widely in the top five of most pound-for-pound polls, and this victory can move him to test Inoue’s ranking man to man – for all the world to see.
