Bam Vs Rat King

By James Blears

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez Franco, who´s still just twenty two and the youngest champion right now, defends his WBC super- flyweight title against 35 year old gnarled warhorse Srisaket Sor Rungvisai at the Tech Port Arena, San Antonio, Texas on June 25^th in an exacting test of boxing skills and sheer firepower.

Jesse (15-0, 10KO´s) stepped up for the challenge of fighting former champion Carlos Cuadras for the vacant title on just five days of notice, after Srisaket (50-5-1, 43 KO´s) went down with a non covid illness and had to pull out. Jesse was to have fought Fernando Diaz on the undercard in a flyweight bout, so he also had to gain an extra slither of weight. It was a huge calculated risk, because “The Prince,” who´s also known as “The Medicine Man,” is so much more experienced. Too much too soon? No!

Jesse who prodigiously gifted, rose to the occasion and was a veritable thorn in the side. He fragrantly dropped Carlos in round three with a wicked right uppercut and fought with the skill of a marksman to win a UD in a fierce all action attraction. A phenomenal performance. And yet another family triumph, because his older brother Joshua “Professor” Franco is WBA super-flyweight champion.

In the amateur sphere, Jesse won two US National Youth Championships, the US Junior Open Tournament and a silver medal in the Junior World Championships. And hes flourished as a pro. In a super fly bout against one time light flyweight challenger Janiel Rivera, he swiftly dispatched the Puerto Rican in round one with two knockdowns both times with blockbuster left hooks, to end the show at two minutes and three seconds.

Then more power and precision to blast out Jose Alejandro Burgos in round four. Hands held high in a tight guard, Jesse slipped, parried and evaded punches, stepping around his opponent, pivoting and felling Jose with a left counter and moments later after he got up, putting him back from whence he came with another thunderous left.

The young southpaw, who´s an accomplished far beyond his callow years would suggest, has everything. He´s the complete article. Ring generalship, excellent footwork sound defense, extraordinary power in both hands particularly his signature left hook and intelligently applied strategy. He can box, he can fight and he has astute anticipation, lightning reflexes plus guile. And my goodness, he`s going to need it against the chilling power punching Thai, who`s on a seek and destroy mission to win the title for the third time. Most likely, his last chance for the ultimate glittering Green and Gold Prize.

Thus far, Jesse who`s pro debut was in 2017, has fought fifteen times involving sixty two rounds. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai aged thirty five, who`s pro debut stretches all the way back to 2009, has fought fifty six times over two hundred and thirty seven rounds. Freshness, against a veritable wealth of experience.

Few fighters have a comfortable cosseted upbringing, or else they`d been playing tennis, polo, croquet or golf.  That`s why they opt for boxing, which is NOT a play sport. Srisaket, is the epitome of a hungry fighter. As Gilbert and Sullivan composed: “The very model of a modern major general.” Originally from the Sisaket Province of Thailand, aged just thirteen he hitched a ride to the Capital Bangkok. A series of meager breadline, bread winner jobs culminating in becoming a refuse collector at a swanky department store, but no meal vouchers, nor meal ticket.  He had to supplement his scant diet and fill a flat iron belly with scraps from the garbage. To this day, his favorite meal is fried rat, but the country not town variety. Hence, his nickname of Rat King.

No amateur experience to speak of, he lost his first two pro fights, but was a quick learner by necessity and showed rapid improvement. Rat like cunning…so to speak! He started from a conventional stance, but then became a southpaw to utilize and exploit his granite hewn left.  At top level, two of his opponents are illustrative of how Srisaket Sor Rungvisai fights, and how he can be fought. Namely Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada.

There is nothing that Srisaket Sor Rungvisai likes more than an opponent standing right in front of him, attempting to get into the pocket and fight toe to toe. It`s tailor made and ideal for him to unleash his avalanche of formidable power with his fast hands. He`s slower on his feet than some, so short range fulfills all of his requirements.

He won the title for the first time with a slugfest KO of Yota Sato, but lost it to Carlos Cuadras. A clash of heads in round eight opened a huge gash over Carlos` left eye, the action was halted and when the scores were read out, Srisaket had lost a UD.

He won the title back again by in a war against Chocolatito. A Left to the body put Chocolatito down in the first. The Nicaraguan re-grouped and fought back with venom, although cut above both eyes from head clashes.  The tremendous Thai won a MD. Their rematch was a totally different story. Srisaket trained for four months flat out with but one aim….KO Chocolatito! This he did in a tempestuous round four.  A huge left hook dropped Chocolatito, he got up on unsteady legs and Srisaket ruthlessly applied the finishing touches, culminating with monumental right.

Next up was Juan Francisco Estrada, who was coming to this division and not yet in his prime. Srisaket was relentless, crowding him and applying unrelenting pressure. Juan Francisco gave good account of himself, but he committed the fundamental error of fighting rather than boxing. A grandstand finish from the Mexican who realized he`d have to KO the teak tough Thai to win. Alas, too little, too late. Srisaket retained his title with a deserved majority decision.

Fight two was altogether a very different kettle of fish. Scalded first time around, by almost flying into the face of a cat on a hot tin roof, “Gallo” took appreciably more care not to get his feathers ruffled. He avoided being cornered or backed up on to the ropes. Preening himself with a supreme performance, he used his jab to its fullest, blunting and neutralizing the Thai`s ferocious onslaught power. Juan employed speed and precision, inflicting and then elusively, laterally and literally moving away, to avoid incoming retaliation. It was a boxing master class of genius! Jesse would do well to learn from this effective strategy, as standing and trading with Srisaket Sor Rungvisai would play into his hands and prove a highly risky ploy. Others have tried it and have come to grief.

For Jesse this will be a significantly different fight than that he fought against Carlos Cuadras. Cuadras was nimble and versatile. Srisaket is ageing and a step slower, but he´s still by far the hardest puncher in the division. A stone faced man who`s driven, inflicting full throttle attack. Jesse will be fighting the fight of his life. It will test him as he`s never been tested before. Make or break time!

Albert Einstein observed: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”  So, who will be the problem solver in this fight? Career wise, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is approaching the beginning of the end. While Jesse Rodriguez is hardly at the end of the beginning. Yet both want and yearn after the same thing, so neither should be underestimated.

With E=Mc2, there´s energy and mass. They´re interchangeable, and best to remember there`s a set amount of either in the Universe… or the galaxy of this fight.

Code breaker, and computer pioneer Alan Turing, who solved the riddle of Enigma, shortening World War Two by at least a couple of years said: “We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty that needs to be done. The following syllogism may be used, some time in the future.”

WORLD BOXING COUNCIL STATS

Jose Sulaimán WBC HONORARY POSTHUMOUS LIFETIME PRESIDENT (+)

Mauricio SulaimánWBC PRESIDENT

WBC SUPERFLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

TECH PORT ARENA SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, USA

JUNE 25, 2022

TV: DAZN    

THIS WILL BE THE WBC’S 2, 144 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE   FIGHT   IN   THE   FIFTY-NINE YEAR HISTORY OF THE WBC

EDDIE HEARN & MATCHROOM BOXING

PRESENTS:

JESSE RODRIGUEZ

(US)

WBC CHAMPION

Nationality:       USA

Date of Birth:    January 20, 2000

Birthplace:        San Antonio, Texas

Residence:         San Antonio, Texas

Age:                  22

Alias:                Bam

Récord:             15-0-0, 10 ko’s

% KO’S;          66.7 %

Guard:             Southpaw

Total rounds:    62

World Title fights: 1 (1-0-0)

Manager:          Robert Garcia

Promoter:          TGB Promotions

                       

SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI

(THAILAND)

CHALLENGER/WBC no. 2

 

Nationality:       Thailand

Date of Birth:    December 8, 1986

Birthplace:        Si Sa Ket, Thailand

Residence:         Si Sa Ket, Thailand

Age:                  36

Real name:        Wisaksil Wangek

Récord:             50-5-1, 43 ko’s

% KO’S;          76.87 %

Guard:             Southpaw

Total rounds:    237

World Title fights: 8 (6-2-0)

Manager:          Thainchai Pisitwuttinan

Promoter:          Nakornloung Promotions

Matchroom Boxing

 

WBC SUPERFLYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONS

NAME                                       COUNTRY                        PERIOD AS CHAMPION

 

1. RAFAEL ORONO (VENEZUELA)                    1980 – 1981
2. CHULHO KIM                            (KOREA)                           1981 – 1982
3. RAFAEL ORONO * (VENEZUELA)                    1982 – 1983
4. PAYAO POOLTARAT (+) (THAILAND)                     1983 – 1984
5. JIRO WATANABE (JAPAN)                            1984 – 1986
6. GILBERTO ROMAN (+) (MEXICO)                          1986 – 1987
7. SANTOS LACIAR (ARGENTINA)                    1987
8. JOSE BEBIS ROJAS (COLOMBIA)                      1987 – 1988
9. GILBERTO ROMAN (+) * (MEXICO)                          1988 – 1989
10. NANA KONADU (GHANA)                           1989 – 1990
11. SUNGKIL MOON (KOREA)                           1990 – 1993
12. JOSE LUIS BUENO (MEXICO)                          1993 – 19943
13. HIROSHI KAWASHIMA (JAPAN)                            1994 – 1997
14. GERRY PEÑALOSA (PHILIPPINES)                   1997 – 1998
15. INJOO CHO (KOREA)                           1998 – 2000
16. MASAMORI TOKUYAMA (JAPAN)                            2000 – 2004
17. KATSUSHIGE KAWASHIMA (JAPAN)                            2004 – 2005
18. MASAMORI TOKUYAMA * (JAPAN)                            2005 – 2006
19. CRISTIAN MIJARES (MEXICO)                          2006 – 2008
20. VIC DARCHYNIAN (AUSTRALIA)                     2008 – 2010
21. TOMAS ROJAS (MEXICO) INTERIM            2009
22. VIC DARCHYNIAN * (AUSTRALIA)                     2009 – 2010
23. TOMAS ROJAS * (MEXICO)                          2010 – 2011
24. SURIYAN POR CHOCKCHAI (THAILAND)                      2011 – 2012
25. YOTA SATO (JAPAN)                            2012 – 2013
26. SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI (THAILAND)                      2013 – 2014
27. CARLOS CUADRAS (MEXICO)                          2014 – 2016
28. ROMAN GONZALEZ (NICARAGUA)                   2016 – 2017
29. SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI * (THAILAND)                      2017 – 2019
30. JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA (MEXICO)                          2019 – 2021
31. JESSE RODRIGUEZ (US)                                  2022 –

* REGAINED

 

WBC SUPERFLYWEIGHT TOP TEN CHAMPIONS

GILBERTO ROMAN (MEXICO)

SANTOS LACIAR (ARGENTINA)

JIRO WATANABE (JAPAN)

CHULHO KIM (KOREA)

CRISTIAN MIJARES (MEXICO)

GERRY PEÑALOSA (PHILIPPINES)

SUNGKIL MOON (KOREA)

RAFAEL ORONO (VENEZUELA)

CARLOS CUADRAS (MEXICO)

JOSE LUIS BUENO (MEXICO)

 

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE SUPERFLYWEIGHT DIVISION IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC

25 WORLD CHAMPIONS RECOGNIZED BY THE WBC

OF WHICH ONLY 6 HAVE REGAINED THEIR TITLE:

RAFAEL ORONO (VENEZUELA)

GILBERTO ROMAN (MEXICO)

MASAMORI TOKUYAMA (JAPAN)

VIC DARCHINYAN (AUSTRALIA)

TOMAS ROJAS (MEXICO)

SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI (THAILAND)

124 WORLD TITLE BOUTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN SUPERFLYWEIGHT DIVISION IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC IN 10 COUNTRIES

21 TITLE FIGHTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN SUPERFLYWEIGHT IN UNITED STATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC

  

 

WORLD SUPERFLYWEIGHT TITLE BOUTS BY COUNTRY IN WBC HISTORY

JAPAN                              37

KOREA                             24

USA                                   21

MEXICO                           17

THAILAND                      9

VENEZUELA                    8

FRANCE                           3

PHILIPPINES                   2

ARGENTINA                    2

SPAIN                               1

TOTAL               124

  

WBC TITLE FIGHTS IN TEXAS STATE IN THE WBC HISTORY

76 WORLD TITLE FIGHTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN TEXAS STATE IN THE WBC HISTORY

3 TITLE FIGHTS IN THE SUPERFLYWEIGHT DIVISION HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN TEXAS STATE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC AND THIS WILL BE THE 77 WBC TITLE FIGHTS IN TEXAS STATE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC

 

 

FIGHTS BY DIVISION IN TEXAS STATE IN THE WBC HISTORY

FEATHER                                   13

SUPERWELTER                         9

WELTER                                     9

LIGHT                                        9

MIDDLE                                     7

SUPERFEATHER                       6

SUPERLIGHT                             5

SUPERBANTAM                         5

HEAVY                                        4

SUPERMIDDLE                          3

SUPERFLY                                 3

FLY                                             2

BANTAM                                     1

TOTAL FIGHTS            76

 

WBC SUPERFLYWEIGHT MEMORABLES FIGHTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC

01/02/1980       RAFAEL ORONO – SEUNG HOON LEE                              DEC 15                CARACAS

24/01/1981       CHULHO KIM – RAFAEL ORONO                                       KO 9                    SAN CRISTOBAL

22/04/1981       CHULHO KIM – JIRO WATANABE                                     DEC 15                SEOUL

28/11/1982       RAFAEL ORONO – CHULHO KIM                                       TKO 6                 SEOUL

27/11/1983       PAYAO POOLTARAT – RAFAEL ORONO                          DEC 12                PATTAYA

05/07/1984       JIRO WATANABE – PAYAO POOLTARAT                        DEC 12                OSAKA

30/03/1986       GILBERTO ROMAN – JIRO WATANABE                           DEC 12                ITAMI

30/08/1986       GILBERTO ROMAN – SANTOS LACIAR                            DRAW 12           CORDOBA

16/05/1987       SANTOS LACIAR – GILBERTO ROMAN                            TKO 11               REIMS

08/08/1987       JOSE BEBIS ROJAS – SANTOS LACIAR                              DEC 12                MIAMI

08/04/1988       GILBERTO ROMAN – JOSE BEBIS ROJAS                          DEC 12                MIAMI.

07/11/1989       NANA KONADU – GILBERTO ROMAN                             DEC 12                MEXICO CITY

20/01/1990       SUNGKIL MOON – NANA KONADU                                  TDEC 9               SEOUL

13/11/1993       JOSE LUIS BUENO – SUNGKIL MOON                              DEC 12                POHANG

04/05/1994       HIROSHI KAWASHIMA – JOSE LUIS BUENO                  DEC 12                YOKOHAMA

20/02/1997       GERRY PEÑALOSA – HIROSHI KAWASHIMA                 DEC 12                TOKYO

29/08/1998       INJOO CHO – GERRY PEÑALOSA                                       DEC 12                SEOUL

10/01/1999       INJOO CHO – JOEL LUNA ZARATE                                   DEC 12                SEOUL

27/08/2000       MASAMORI TOKUYAMA – INJOO CHO                           DEC 12                OSAKA

23/06/2003       MASAMORI TOKUYAMA – KATSUSHIGE KAWASHIMA DEC 12           YOKOHAMA

03/01/2004       MASAMORI TOKUYAMA – DIMITRI KIRILOV               DEC 12                OSAKA, JAPAN

18/09/2006       CRISTIAN MIJARES – KATSUSHIGE KAWASHIMA       DEC 12                YOKOHAMA

17/05/2008       CRISTIAN MIJARES – ALEXANDER MUÑOZ                   DEC 12                GOMEZ PALACIO

01/11/2008       VIC DARCHINYAN – CRISTIAN MIJARES                        KO 9                    CARSON

07/02/2009       VIC DARCHINYAN – JORGE ARCE                                    TKO 11               ANAHEIM

24/10/2009       TOMAS ROJAS – EVANS MBAMBA                                    UD 12                  VERACRUZ

21/05/2011       TOMAS ROJAS – JUAN JOSE MONTES                              TKO 11               TUXTLA GUTIERREZ

19/08/2011       SURIYAN POR RUNGVISAI – TOMAS ROJAS                   UD 12                  SRISAKET

27/03/2012       YOTA SATO – SURIYAN POR RUNGVISAI                       UD 12                  TOKYO

03/05/2013       SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI – YOTA SATO                     TKO 8                 SRISAKET

04/04/2015       CARLOS CUADRAS – LUIS CONCEPCION                        UD 12                  METEPEC

10/09/2016       ROMAN GONZALEZ – CARLOS CUADRAS                      UD 12                  INGLEWOOD.

09/09/2017       SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI – ROMAN GONZALEZ      KO 4                    CARSON

24/02/2018       SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI – JUAN FCO. ESTRADA     MD 12                 INGLEWOOD

26/04/2019       JUAN FCO. ESTRADA – SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI     UD 12                  INGLEWOOD

23/10/2020       JUAN FCO. ESTRADA – CARLOS CUADRAS                     TKO 11               MEXICO CITY

13/03/2021       JUAN FCO. ESTRADA – ROMAN GONZALEZ                  SD 12                   DALLAS