BERNSTEIN ON BOXING
Sanchez’s 2½-year run of huge success went from February 2, 1980, to July 21, 1982. Rodriguez’s 3½-year odyssey of wins has been from February 5, 2022, to November 22, 2025. Here is what each man accomplished in those periods:
Boxing weekly series on ESPN that day, and no one quite knew what to say or how to process it. This event shook the sport to its core. Though his death left his overall boxing journey unfulfilled, it did provide this remarkable 2½-year period where Sanchez left a brilliant partial legacy – one that equals more than most have in a decade of boxing. Now into the breach in this era comes Bam Rodriguez, who would author a streak of victories that awakens the memories of Sanchez’s glorious run. Rodriguez announced himself to the boxing world much as Sanchez did, by taking down a proven warrior. Sanchez surprised longtime champ Danny Lopez, and Rodriguez would do the same to former titleholder Carlos Cuadras. Cuadras was one of the four kings of the flyweight and junior bantamweight divisions. He, along with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, created excitement with their rivalries and thrilling matches. The 22-year-old Rodriguez crashed the party by beating Cuadras for a vacant belt. He then had the temerity to defeat Sor Rungvisai and Estrada. Almost with ease, he tossed aside three very good titleholders in Sunny Edwards, Phumelela Cafu and Fernando Martinez. When watching any streak of great wins unfold, the allure and fascination are in what the future might bring. In Sanchez’s case, rematches with Gomez and Laporte were in the making, and a superfight with Alexis Arguello was at least possible if Sanchez were to move up in weight at some point. His win over Nelson came when Nelson was 13-0 and very good, but not quite the amazing warrior he would become. Many boxing pundits relished a Sanchez-Nelson reunion in the ring down the road. Nelson was ahead on one of the scorecards when Sanchez stopped him in their spirited battle, and many thought this was a rematch with amazing possibilities. While all of that went unrealized due to Sanchez’s tragic death, today we can relish the blue sky ahead for
Rodriguez. There are superfights out there for him as he adds his name to the current pound-for-pound greats in the sport. In fact, one of those pound- for-pounders, Naoya Inoue, is at least a possible target. This is complicated by the fact that Inoue is already a couple of weight divisions above him and thinking of moving up to 126 after his superfight with Junto Nakatani. If Inoue keeps boxing for the next few years and Rodriguez can get high enough in weight, it could be a veteran superstar against a younger superstar still in his prime. More likely to happen is a battle with Nakatani, who is going to be at 122 for a while, whatever the outcome of his Inoue match. Perhaps before those matches, yet another talented Japanese boxer could step forward: 118-pound titleholder Takuma Inoue, Naoya’s brother. Imagine how a win would set up the fight with Naoya. All these possible matchups fire the imagination of boxing fans around the world. I held my powder a little more than others in declaring Rodriguez a generational talent in the sport. I knew he was terrific, of course, but wanted to see a little more. His last three fights, especially his dismantling of an excellent titleholder in Martinez, provided all the evidence necessary. His amazing 3½- year run as a champion at such a young age begs for historical perspective. Perhaps that is why the similar story of Salvador Sanchez rushed into my mind. It is a great joy for those of us who have observed and covered both of these amazing fighters. The feats of Sanchez came at a time when boxing had more impact on the broader sports world. That and his tragic death could be seen as reasons to elevate the perception of his achievements a bit. I assure you, though, that what he did is in no way mythology. It was all astonishingly real and thrilling. And so the mere fact that we can put Rodriguez’s journey in the same paragraph with that is the ultimate compliment. And the wonderful part is that Bam’s journey gets to continue and fully blossom. We can’t wait to see it.
SANCHEZ: •
Conquered 10 fighters (one twice) with a combined record of 337 wins and 17 losses. Beat three Hall of Famers in this run by stoppage – Danny “Little Red” Lopez (twice), Wilfredo Gomez and Azumah Nelson. Won against both Juan Laporte, who would become a renowned titleholder, and perennial top contender Ruben Castillo, who brought a 44-1 record into his fight with Sanchez. Beat five other good featherweight challengers. Won nine fights against opponents with a combined record of 267-21. Beat future Hall of Famer Juan Francisco Estrada and two fighters who will certainly be on the Hall of Fame ballot – Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Defeated world titleholders Sunny Edwards, Phumelela Cafu and Fernando Martinez by stoppage. Beat three very solid title challengers.
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RODRIGUEZ: •
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A TALE OF TWO KINGS By Al Bernstein
Sanchez and Bam: both pound-for-pound stars in their early 20s.
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In helping to kick off a decade that is thought of as perhaps the best ever in the sport, Sanchez was an electric performer in the ring. While he never lost in this period, he was always tested by great opponents and his bouts were thrilling, give-and-take affairs. All of us involved with the sport at the time saw this young phenom as the beacon of lower-weight boxers in this exhilarating era. His future, we thought, was unlimited. That was not to be. The sport received a body blow that took its breath away on August 12, 1982, when the 23-year-old Sanchez was killed in a car accident, only three weeks after he beat Azumah Nelson. I remember we were gathered to do the Top Rank
Boxing Hall of Fame. Even though the rush to anoint fighters as all-time greats these days is vexing to me, I am not immune to the joyous idea of showing “historical” love to current-day fighters. That is why I can state that the 26-year-old Rodriguez has created this comparison to Sanchez. They fought in different eras, in different divisions and in different styles, but what they each accomplished in a short period of time at a very young age binds them together. At some point it simply occurred to me that this comparison is so utterly appropriate. I hope you see the kinship as I do.
T his is the story of two remarkable boxers from different eras tied together over a period of more than 40 years by their youth, excellence and historical achievements. Before his untimely death at age 23, Salvador Sanchez had been on one of the most impressive runs in boxing history, made all the more sensational by the fact that he did it at such a young age.
The excellence of that run has seldom if ever been equaled. With changes in the activity level of fighters today and the difficulty of making major matches, it seems unlikely that anyone in this era could do what Sanchez did. Well, no one has. But it’s quite fair to say another great young fighter has given us a facsimile of it. That fact alone qualifies Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez as a superstar who is a cinch for the International
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