Sunny Edwards and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez finally get in the ring on tonight, to give us one of the most interesting boxing matchups of the year. The pair- the top two fighters at flyweight – signed for this fight back in June. They had to wait this long while Bam healed from a broken jaw, but at last, here we are.
Rodriguez (18-0-0, 11 KOs) burst onto the scene last year, stepping up to superflyweight to beat Carlos Cuadras on short notice for the WBA title there then school divisional legend Srisaket Sor Rungvisai to follow up and finished off with one more defence, on a Canelo card in September. This year he dropped back to his more natural weight at flyweight, and won the WBO world title against Christian Gonzalez, comfortably on the cards albeit at the cost of that broken jaw.
Edwards’ (20-0-0, 4KOs) rise has been less meteoric, but he’s steadily been persuading people of his skills for a few years now. He won the IBF title he holds back in 2021, against long-reigning champ Moruti Mthalane, and has defended it four times since.
Style-wise, it’s a matchup between two highly-skilled boxers, both men who are known for their footwork yet also throw plenty of punches. Of the two, Bam is definitely the more aggressive. He mixes it up, flashing footwork reminiscent of the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko when he can, but able to employ a more steady, solid pressure when necessary. Sunny, meanwhile, loves to dance on the back foot, but he does so throwing constantly, and in recent fights has made a habit of dropping to the ropes and beating his opponents in close too. It should be fun.
The undercard sees a fun super-bantamweight matchup between Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Kevin Gonzalez as the main support, plus outings for prospects such as Olympic gold medalist Galal Yafai and Edwards’ gym-mate, the slick and aggressive Junaid Bostan.
The card will be broadcast on DAZN in the US and UK, starting at 8PM ET (1am on Sunday UK time). The main event is expected at about 10.55PM ET (3.55AM UK time). See our full guide on how to watch the fight here.
Update: okay, the undercard is done – see the highlights below. Join us for the main event in just a few minutes.
Sunny Edwards vs Bam Rodriguez play-by-play
Round 1: Bam aiming to use his reach advantage by jabbing early, nothing too aggressive. Edwards popping and circling. Bam a southpaw here, Sunny in orthodox (he’s a switch-hitter so that may change throughout the fight). Bam looking for body shots early, Sunny’s punch of choice a check hook as he spins around to his left. The seven-inch reach advantage not showing up here. Close round. 10-9 Edwards.
Round 2: Edwards complaining those bodyshots in the first were low. They’re not really, he’s just trying to work the ref. Bam goes back to that well to start round 2. Jabbing again and Sunny hooking over the top of it. Couple of times Sunny’s pitched over a right hand and nearly fallen into bam. Now he’s got a swelling over his right eye, blinking it out. Sunny landing a few shots but Bam has the range with his jab right now. Sunny lands a bodyshot to close, but 10-9 Bam, 19-19
Round 3: Sunny needs to move a bit more than he did in round 2. Does so at the start of the 3rd. He’s very focused on hooking over Bam’s jab, which may not be thhe right idea. He’s trying to exchange in center ring, and he’s landing his shots, especially some decent ones to the body, but there’s a very clear power difference. Sunny switches southpaw for a bit and catches Bam with a couple of clean lefts. Starting to take the lead. Bam catches him Sunny nice at the end. Another close round but the slightly cleaner work makes it 10-9 Bam, 29-28
Round 4: Sunny’s struggling with the jab, then they tangle and fall over. Sunny’s southpaw again, lands another clean left. He seems more comfortable in this stance. Goes back orthodox now though. Switches back again, and another clean left over Bam’s lead hand. Bam the one falling in this time. Sunny got a rhythm in this round, countering whatever Bam throws. 10-9 Sunny, 38-38
Round 5: Sunny starting to flash a little bit of, shock, power here. Nothing stunning, but Bam isn’t loving the counters and opens this round a bit more hesitantly. Orthodox at the moment, but landing straight rights down the middle. He looks more comfortable southpaw, yes, but the constant switching is making it difficult for Bam to get a read. Switches as Bam comes in and lands a short left. Then he falls short and eats a right. This is warming up nicely. Bam has decided he’s going to walk through the power at the end of this round, and we’re getting a pocket fight. Little uppercut from Sunny towards the end of the round, and they close out at range. 10-9 Sunny, 48-47, but that was very close and could go the other way.
Round 6: Bam steps in and catches Sunny off balance. A little bit hurt but he immediately throws back. Bam senses blood and walks forward, they tie up. Bam the one getting messy now, maybe a bit too eager to capitalise on that early shot. They’re in the pocket in the middle of the round, Sunny probably defending a little bit more of the shots but what Bam lands visibly cleaner. Bam now behind the guard and marching in, something he has in his toolbox that he uses to good advantage when he needs. Sunny’s hurt and Bam unloads along the ropes! Bam jawing at him, then sticks his tongue out and gets caught gloating. 10-9 Bam, this is turning into a tear-up. 57-57
Round 7: Don’t get me wrong, this is technical, but this is a proper fight. Rough, toe-to-toe. Not what Edwards would have wanted. He doesn’t look in great shape, and swings big at air early in the round. More on the back foot now. Takes a couple shots then drives forward with a combination. Sunny gets a bit too eager switching as he attacks, and eats a counter that drives him back. He’s a bit in trouble here, because he’s behind and needs to be an aggressor. Now he spins Bam in the corner, unloads on the ropes, and Bam holds on and spins back out. This round is closer but still clearly Bam’s, and Sunny’s face is a mess. 10-9 Bam, 68-67
Round 8: And again they open toe-to-toe. Bam working the body again, as well as that piston-like jab. Big left hand inside hurts Sunny! His legs are a bit stiff here, and Bam’s unloading. Edwards is refusing to back down, but he’s second best at the moment. Really starting to fall apart here a bit. Toe to toe again and Bam unloading. Sunny landing the odd good shot and ends the round on a flurry but, again, 10-9 Bam and he’s taking over here. 78-76
Round 9: Bam’s corner now so confident they’re telling Bam to call out Estrada after the fight. Sunny’s face a mess of cuts. He’s trying to circle, but Bam’s ring-cutting is superb. This is turning into a masterful performance. Bam catches him coming in and the mouthpiece comes out. Bam waits for the reset and comes straight in, he senses a knockout. Sunny refuses to go away and still fighting back. Catches Bam with a right that knocks him on his heels. Then intercepts him as he walks forward. Bam’s not respecting it but he doesn’t need to be taking those shots. And at the end of the round Bam catches Sunny movinng and drops him! Face down. The round is over, but he’s in trouble. And the ref waves it off! The first half was fairly even but then Bam put on a beatdown. Masterful, masterful performance. He’s special.
The knockdown was lovely, poked Sunny in the chest to freeze him up then absolutely laced him with a left. Sunny’s corner saw enough and waved it off in the corner.
Bam will be moving up after this, so Sunny will probably get another go at the belts, but this was humbling for him.
Sunny Edwards vs Bam Rodriguez full card, live results and highlights
IBF and WBO flyweight world titles: Sunny Edwards vs Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez
Super-bantamweight: Murodjon Akhmadaliev TKO-8 Kevin Gonzalez
- A world title eliminator here between the unbeaten Gonzalez (23-0-1) and Akhmadaliev (11-1-0), who’s coming off a loss to Marlon Tapales in his previous fight, which was itself for two of the belts. The winner here will be in line to face the winner of Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales, so a lot on the line.
- A tentative first two rounds, then strong words from Gonzalez’ corner saw him pick up the pace in the third. Akhmadaliev responded, but the fight is definitely in Gonzalez’ favour when he can make it rough in close.
- Akhmadaliev took control in the fourth, having seemed to figure out Gonzalez’ timing a bit. Sliding back to make the Mexican fall short then cracking him as he reset.
- An absolute shellacking in the sixth, with two knockdowns for Akhmadaliev and a consistent beating. This is close to a stoppage, and Gonzalez’ corner are telling him so.
- The fight went on till the end of the eighth. A knockdown should really have been the end of the fight, but the referee let Gonzalez get up and take a few more shots before waving it off. That should have been off a round earlier at least. The last three rounds were a total beating.
Flyweight: Galal Yafai UD10 Rocco Santomauro – 99-91, 98-93, 97-93
- Galal Yafai is making his way as a professional coming off a gold medal win at the Tokyo Olympics.
- A highly aggressive fighter who scores KOs (4 in 5 fights) more on volume than sheer power, he’ll be
- Rocco Santomauro sees himself as hard done-by in his most recent loss, to Ricardo Rafael Sandoval, and will be hoping to make a statement with a shock here.
- The first half of the fight saw Yafai employ his typical style, pushing the tempo and marking Santomauro up with volume. He’s shipping the odd shot in return- he’s not defensively slick- but there’s not enough power in Santomauro’s work to trouble him so far.
- The second half saw much the same, though Yafai did seem to slow down some. The crowd booed, which was a bit unfair, but you can understand why- it was high volume, but all one-paced.
- Yafai wins on scores of 99-91, 98-93, 97-93
Super-bantamweight: Jarico O’Quinn KO-5 Peter McGrail
- McGrail, at 27, is getting old to be considered a prospect, but he’s been raising eyebrows with some flashy Lomachenko-like footwork and aggressive performances as he makes his way in the pros.
- His brother, Joe, opened the prelim show earlier today, and Peter will be hoping to get American tongues wagging with a performance here.
- O’Quinn is a pretty solid step up, and is himself taking a step – McGrail his first serious opponent since a crushing 1-round loss back in 2021.
- That McGrail footwork gave O’Quinn real problems, though a scored KD in the first was on replay more of a foot-tangle than a real knockdown.
- Huge comeback! After another KD in the 4th, McGrail finds himself absolutely flattened in the fifth round by a right-hand counter.
Super-bantamweight: Arturo Popoca TKO-4 Carlos Mujica
Junior-middleweight: Junaid Bostan UD-8 Gordie Russ II 79-73, 79-73, 79-73
Featherweight: Albert Gonzalez KO-2 Alexis Molina
Featherweight: Joe McGrail TKO-2 Edgar Ortiz Jr