Jesse Rodriguez believes his hometown crowd will roar him to victory as he bids to become a two-weight World champion when he tackles Cristian Gonzalez for the vacant WBO Flyweight title at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antponio, Texas, live worldwide on DAZN.

Rodriguez (17-0 11 KOs) boxes in his backyard for only the fourth time in his blossoming career, and it’s his second showing in the brand-new arena he lit up in June. ‘Bam’ defended his Super-Flyweight crown against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai on that occasion and was punch-perfect as he stopped the Thai legend in the eighth round, sparking wild celebrations.

The 23 year old came face-to-face with Gonzalez (15-1 5 KOs) at The Alamo in San Antonio to kick-off fight week, and while the #2 ranked Mexican will look to leave it all in the ring in his first World title battle, Rodriguez wants to replicate that magical night against Rungvisai once again.

“Fights in San Antonio are just different for me,” said Rodriguez. “The last one against Rungvisai in San Antonio was electric and exciting, so to get another opportunity to fight for another world title there in front of my fans is amazing. 

“San Antonio means everything to me, it’s where I was born and raised, my family and my people are there and whenever I step in the ring, they are with me. I represent San Antonio when I step in the ring, and I am doing this for my city.

“The Rungvisai night was amazing. There was a lot of talk that I was going to get knocked out, that Rungvisai was too much for me, so when I stopped him, it was a moment I will never forget. The emotions were so high, that’s why I just fell to the floor, it was an amazing feeling.

“Gonzalez is ranked #2, he’s tall, he’s lengthy and he likes to move a lot. So, we’ve been working on how I will close the distance and cut off the ring, I’ve been sparring taller guys so on April 8, there’s not going to be a problem for me to go in there and show what we’ve been working on.”