Undefeated Jesse Rodriguez faces fellow-unbeaten flyweight champion Sunny Edwards on Saturday, December 16 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The pair squares off in a 12-round world championship unification with two belts on the line.
23-year-old two-division world champion Jesse Rodriguez (18-0, 11 KOs) brings to the ring his WBO strap. The San Antonio southpaw claimed the title in April, when he beat Cristian Gonzalez by unanimous decision.
Sunny Edwards (20-0, 4 KOs) is a long reigning IBF king, who retained his title by unanimous decision against Andres Campos last time out in June. The 27-year-old native of Sutton, England puts his belt on the line for the fifth time.
“This fight is going to be exciting,” Rodriguez said. “The sky is the limit for me; anybody, anywhere. He’s a very good fighter, very technical, very skillful, fast, smart. I knew one day down the line we would meet up and here it is. He hasn’t been in with someone with the skills I have, and with the power on top of that. I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to win, I’m taking his belt, and I’m taking his ‘0’. I’m going to knock him out.
“I want to be remembered as a legend, as a fighter that never dodged a fight. I’m here for a good time, not a long time. I feel like I have what it takes to not only drop him but to finish the fight early.
“I decided to get an AirBnB for this fight and separate myself from the camp house. There’s a lot on the line, so I wanted to be as comfortable as possible, so little things like that play a big part in training camp.
“I do this to myself because I want to have a better life. I have a daughter on the way, I want to provide everything she ever needs. I’m a lot more motivated, every day I think about my daughter. I want to provide everything for her, so I am going extra hard, harder than I ever have before. What does it take to be the best? It’s hard work, dedication, sacrifice, heart and a lot of will.”
‘Winning this one would be ten times what I felt back then’
“My jaw feels good. It’s a little numb but the doctor said it would be like that for a while. I’m felt a little crack and then my ear started ringing so I knew something was up. I was able to bear it and finish the fight. I didn’t enjoy the win. I went straight to the hospital and got surgery on the Monday, and then I was on the six-week diet, strictly pudding, smoothies, milkshakes, whatever I could eat without chewing was what I was on, but as long as I’ve got my coffee, I’m good.
“A lot of things have changed since becoming World champion. In San Antonio, they treat me like a king. I go into restaurants and get free food and free coffees in the coffee shops. I was living at home before the World title fight, but after winning the title I got my own apartment and started living on my own. Life has been amazing since then. I appreciate what I did that day, but it’s in the past now. I have the biggest fight of my life coming up and I use that feeling as motivation because I know winning this one would be ten times what I felt back then.”
In the co-main event, Indio-based former unified IBF and WBA super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (11-1, 8 KOs) of Uzbekistan faces off Mexican southpaw Kevin Gonzalez (29-0-1, 13 KOs) in the WBA super bantamweight title eliminator. Also on the card, British Olympic gold medalist Galal Yafai (5-0 4 KOs) defends his WBC International flyweight belt against Rocco Santomauro (22-2 6 KOs) of Duarte, California. Plus, Peter McGrail (8-0 5 KOs) of Liverpool and Ja’Rico O’Quinn (16-1-1 8 KOs) of Detroit clash for the WBA Continental strap.
In the UK and Australia, the event airs live on Sunday, December 17.
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