SAN ANTONIO -- The move down in weight was not an issue at all for Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.
A bid to become his city’s first-ever multi-division major titlist is officially in play after Rodriguez weighed 111.4 pounds during Friday’s official weigh-in held at the main ballroom at Hyatt Regency hotel. Mexico’s Cristian Gonzalez was right at the 112-pound divisional limit ahead of his first title fight as the two will compete for the vacant WBO flyweight title.
Their scheduled 12-round bout headlines a DAZN telecast from Boeing Center at Tech Port in Rodriguez’s hometown of San Antonio, Texas.
Rodriguez (17-0, 11KOs) initially sought out to win his first major title at junior flyweight. The vision board changed when he was offered the chance to face former champ Carlos Cuadras for the vacant WBC junior bantamweight title, which Rodriguez won via twelve-round, unanimous decision last February 5 in Phoenix, Arizona. Two defenses followed before he vacated the belt last fall to challenge for a flyweight title.
The 23-year-young Rodriguez is listed by bet365 sportsbook as a massive -3300 favorite to prevail and become a two-division titlist.
Gonzalez (15-1, 6KOs) is listed by bet365 as a +1100 underdog in what doubles as his first title challenge and his U.S. debut.
The second of two title fights on Saturday’s show pits unified WBA/IBF junior featherweight titlist Murodjon ‘MJ’ Akhmadaliev (11-0, 8KOs) versus IBF mandatory challenger Marlon Tapales.
Akhmadaliev—a bronze medalist for Uzbekistan during the 2016 Rio Olympics—was 121.6 pounds as he enters the fourth defense of his unified title reign. Tapales (36-3, 19KOs) was 121.8 pounds in his bid to become a two-division titleholder. The 31-year-old southpaw from Kapatagan, Philippines briefly held the WBO bantamweight title in 2016 before outgrowing the division and losing the title at the scales.
The unified title fight is viewed as a more competitive affair than the main event.
Akhmadaliev is currently a -500 favorite according to bet365 to extend his title reign that dates back to a January 2020 split decision win over Daniel Roman. The same sportsbook lists Tapales as a +330 underdog.
DAZN main card, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. local time
Raymond Ford (13-0-1, 7KOs), Camden, New Jersey, 126 pounds vs. Jessie Magdaleno (29-1, 18KOs), Las Vegas, 126 pounds—12 rounds, featherweight
Thomas Mattice (20-3-1, 15KOs), Cleveland, Ohio, 129 pounds vs. Ramiro Cesena (16-0-1, 13KOs), Loreta, Baja California, Mexico, 130 pounds—10 rounds, junior lightweight
DAZN ‘Before the Bell’, 5:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. local time
Israil Madrimov (8-0-1, 6KOs), Khiva, Uzbekistan, 158.8 pounds vs. Raphael Igbokwe (16-3, 7KOs), Houston, Texas, 160 pounds—10 rounds, middleweight
Marc Castro (9-0, 6KOs), Fresno, California, 133 pounds vs. Ricardo Lopez (16-6-3, 11KOs), Tijuana, California, 133.6 pounds—8 rounds, lightweight
Khalil Coe (4-0-1, 2KOs), Flemington, New Jersey, 175.8 pounds vs. James Quiter (6-1-1, 6KOs), Oak Park, Illinois, 174.8 pounds—6 rounds, light heavyweight
Jesus Martinez (3-0, 1KO), Del Rio, Texas, 119.4 pounds vs. Jose Lopez (4-2-1, 0KOs), Ridgewood, New York via Puebla, Mexico, 118.6 pounds—4 rounds, bantamweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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