One Door Opens For A Showtime And One Door Closes For Another
In boxing, you need to make your own opportunities and once you get them, you need to make them count.
This weekend, the outspoken boxing technician that is Sunny ‘Showtime’ Edwards flies to Arizona to take on one of the hottest prospects in the sport right now in the shape of two-weight world champion, and the more softly spoken, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.
A fight that has been in the making for a good year or so, the younger brothers to two former world champions will be hoping to cement their name as the best flyweight on the planet and victory for either will certainly do just that.
Unbeaten in 20 fights, Edwards has backed up his talk outside the ring with some masterful performances inside it. He became champion of the world in 2021 when defeating Moruti Mthalane before successful defences against Jayson Mama, Muhammad Waseem, Felix Alvarado and Andres Campos followed.
A combined record between those five opponents of 130-5, the 28-year-old from Croydon has established himself as one of the most dominant world champions in the sport.
As someone who prefers to do his talking inside the ring, the rise of Bam Rodriguez came fairly quickly. After fighting on just four televised shows, he stepped in late at the weight above to shock Carlos Cuadras and become WBC world super-flyweight champion just two weeks after his 22nd birthday.
After two defences of that title, which saw him emphatically stop the legend that is Sor Rungvisai and then outpoint Israel Gonzalez, he dropped back down to 112lbs in a bid to become a two-weight world champion and that is exactly what he did with victory over Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez.
Despite no Ring Magazine title on the line here for some crazy reason, it’s widely regarded as a fight between the two best flyweights on the planet.
The slick footwork and hands of the switch-hitting Edwards up against the hard-hitting and intelligent Rodriguez, this fight will not disappoint.
If Edwards is going to have any success in the fight, he needs to find his rhythm early which, to his credit, he usually does. Bam, on paper, is the one with the power advantage and Edwards will need to offset him when he looks to plant his feet in range and then move around the target.
We know full well Sunny can box on the back foot for 36 minutes as we saw against Mthalane and Waseem, but can Bam apply enough pressure or land enough shots early on to turn this into a dogfight? Only time will tell.
What both fighters have in abundance is boxing IQ. It will be a chess match, and it may well turn out to be a case of who’s in a better place mentally, not necessarily physically. One thing we do know for sure is that these are two young, hungry and undefeated men who will be willing to go to dark places to put their name at the top of the flyweight tree.
As one door opens for a certain showtime in Arizona, another closes in Minneapolis as David Morrell Jr and Sena Agbeko headline the final non-PPV Showtime Boxing card.
Despite the rumours, it still came as a big shock when Showtime announced that they would only now be broadcasting pay-per-view boxing from 2024 onwards. They are, however, leaving us with a lovely little 13-fight card which sees the exciting Cuban David Morrell Jr defend his WBA world super-middleweight crown against Sena Agbeko and Julio Cesar Martinez defending his WBC flyweight title against the unbeaten Angelina Cordova.
The exciting 9-0 Morrell Jr will be aiming to continue his impeccable start in the professional ranks which has seen him stop eight of his nine opponents to date and more importantly, book him a place at the top table of the 168lbs division with the likes of Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez. It’s a card that’s gone under the radar a little, especially in the UK, but you’d be silly to miss the potential rise of another future pound-for-pound star in Morrell Jr.
Back over in the UK, Josh Kelly will be aiming to continue his impressive comeback when he faces Placido Ramirez on home soil in Sunderland whilst Jack Rafferty and Lee Appleyard face off for the Commonwealth super-lightweight title in Manchester in what could well turn out to be one of the small-hall fights of 2023.