SPECIAL BREW
SUPER FLY Despite being a modern weight class, there have been some brilliant junior bantamweight champions over the past 45 years.
in the division, including 13 world title defenses. As Tapia moved up in weight, dominant champions such as Masamori Tokuyama and Fernando Montiel emerged and compiled resumes that put them in Mount Rushmore consideration as well. Because of the relatively brief lifespan of the division, and also its over- indexing of fighters from Asia, where title unification bouts haven’t been a priority in past years, Rodriguez has a genuine chance of establishing himself as one of the division’s GOATs with a small handful of additional wins. To this point, what he’s accomplished at both junior bantamweight and flyweight – seven wins over current or former world titleholders – is more than all of the great champions listed above. Though one has to take into consideration the proliferation of titles and the fact that
caliber of competition has had time to be fully contextualized and appreciated. Gilberto Roman, for example, having faced Moon, Watanabe, Rojas, Santos Laciar and Nana Konadu, for example, had an incredibly difficult schedule, in retrospect. Regardless of what Rodriguez does the rest of the way, however, he can pretty comfortably count on having beaten one Hall of Famer (Estrada), and a handful of others (Sor Rungvisai, Cuadras, Pedro Guevara) who will likely at least see their names on the ballot. But just as the aforementioned “eye test” aids Rodriguez in his current evaluation, it will do the same when considering his placement amongst the all-time divisional greats. Relative to the field of active fighters across all weight classes, it’s possible that the present-day version of Bam Rodriguez
is held in higher esteem than any junior bantamweight has been before. Only two fighters at Rodriguez’s weight or lighter have been ranked higher than Bam is presently in Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings: Gonzalez and Ricardo Lopez. One other man, Michael Carbajal, reached No. 4 on the list where Rodriguez currently sits. Of course, there are necessary caveats when presenting this as evidence, too. The Ring’s ratings debuted in 1989, so by the time Galaxy and Moon appeared in the ratings (both peaked at No. 8 in annual ratings), they were a year or two away from retirement. There is also the possibility that as worldly and educated
as the ratings panel would have been at the time, no one is immune to either environmental bias or bias towards fighters they had seen live or in-person. Fighters like Galaxy and Moon were tape-trader favorites but were otherwise curiosities that came alive in this publication’s pages for the majority of the boxing audience. That said, the improved visibility that Rodriguez enjoys is in large part an advantage of his own creation. The industry- wide and cultural shift that has improved the visibility of lighter weight classes was due to names like Carbajal and Tapia breaking glass ceilings in the American marketplace, followed by Chocolatito, Estrada, Cuadras and Sor Rungvisai becoming mainstays on premium cable and later streaming services. However, if Rodriguez hadn’t emerged as he did – as a thrilling, U.S.-based destroyer – to take the torch, it’s possible that enthusiasm for the lighter weight classes would have diminished or simply retreated to Asia and Mexico where it has always had a home base. When comparing fighters, one tends to default to visceral feelings about them, something Rodriguez’s talent level seems to evoke in everyone who watches him – equal and opposite to the reaction his stature, look and humble attitude produce. It might not appear as though the man in the wire-frame glasses and oversized Supreme tee can fight, but to see him in the ring is to recognize that he is indeed as talented as the greatest of the men his size to ever fight. The aspiring barista has just been on the world level for the span of a cup of coffee, but he may already be as good as the world has ever seen.
JOHNNY TAPIA World Title Reign: 1994-1998 Total Defenses: 13
The unbeaten Bam is one of the most decorated fighters in boxing.
MASAMORI TOKUYAMA World Title Reign: 2000-2004, 2005-2006 Total Defenses: 9
more beltholders are available to fight these days, Rodriguez certainly hasn’t been facing paper tigers, much less collecting paper titles. Central to Bam’s mythology is the fact that he cleared out the prodigious generation of champions that helped further popularize the division, defeating Cuadras, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Juan Francisco Estrada. Only his friendship with and mentorship from Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez prevented him from making it a clean sweep. More recently, Rodriguez has turned his attention to the current generation, wiping out then-reigning titleholders Phumelele Cafu and Martinez in subsequent fights. As consistent as Rodriguez’s schedule has been, matching Galaxy’s 19 title defenses within the division would be a tall task, particularly if he does intend to retire at the age of 30. Working against Rodriguez is also the benefit that past fighters in these arguments tend to enjoy, which is that their
KHAOSAI GALAXY World Title Reign: 1984-1991 Total Defenses: 19
FERNANDO MONTIEL World Title Reign: 2002-2003, 2005-2008 Total Defenses: 8
JIRO WATANABE World Title Reign: 1982-1984, 1984-1986 Total Defenses: 10
VIC DARCHINYAN World Title Reign: 2008-2010 Total Defenses: 4 (includes two-belt title unification bout and one defense of the unified titles)
SUNG-KIL MOON World Title Reign: 1990-1993 Total Defenses: 9
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