Jesse Rodriguez still makes the junior bantamweight limit of 115 pounds fairly comfortably.
If the unbeaten champion commonly known as "Bam" has his way, he will fully unify all the titles in his division before he moves up to bantamweight. After the powerful southpaw demolished an overmatched opponent to stay busy six months ago, Rodriguez will start that process July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) will defend his Ring and WBC belts against hard-hitting South African
Phumelele Cafu (11-0-3, 8 KOs), whose WBO junior bantamweight crown will be at stake. DAZN will stream their 12-round unification fight as a main event from the Dallas Cowboys' training facility, Ford Center at The Star.
Cafu changed his life when he upset Japan's
Kosei Tanaka (20-2, 11 KOs) by split decision and won the title from him Oct. 14 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Rodriguez discussed the Cafu fight following a promotional event Tuesday in Frisco.
"I know he's coming off that victory very motivated,” Rodriguez told
The Ring. "He wants to do the same here in Texas. I’m a different fighter from Tanaka, so he’s not gonna be able to do the same against me."
Cafu's counter right knocked Tanaka to the canvas in the fifth round, which emerged as the one-point difference on the cards of two judges. Phil Austin and Waleska Roldan scored Cafu a 114-113 winner, whereas Jesse Reyes credited Tanaka with winning 114-113.
Rodriguez, 25, wasn't at aware of Cafu before the 26-year-old southpaw shocked Tanaka.
"The only clip I did see of him was when he knocked Tanaka down," he said.
Rodriguez nevertheless is preparing for Cafu as if he were about to fight
Juan Francisco Estrada again or
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, the No. 1 contender for his WBC belt.
"I'm gonna be a hundred percent ready for this fight," Rodriguez said. "These are the kinds of fights that motivate me to my full potential and make me train 10 times harder than my past fights."
DraftKings considers Rodriguez a 25-1 favorite to defeat Cafu, The Ring's No. 4 contender for his title.
If Rodriguez adds the WBO belt to his collection, he hopes promoter Eddie Hearn can secure a fight for him with WBA champ Fernando Martinez. Argentina's Martinez (18-0, 9 KOs) retained his title May 11, when he got up from a 10th-round knockdown, maintaining his lead to beat Japan's
Kazuto Ioka (31-4-1, 16 KOs) by unanimous decision in their rematch at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
"Here at 115, I feel like I’m one or two fights away from becoming undisputed," Rodriguez said. "Just to have all the belts at one time would mean a lot to me."
Martinez, 33, once owned the IBF 115-pound championship as well. He vacated that title when choosing to fight Ioka again rather than making a mandated defense against
Mexico's Willibaldo Garcia (23-5-2, 13 KOs)."We need to see how this fight plays out," Rodriguez said, "and then how the other fighters and belts play out as well. So, it’s just a matter of timing and going from there."
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing