Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez became a three-weight World champion in Arizona, as he won the WBA bantamweight title with a dominant sixth-round knockout of Antonio Vargas.
Rodriguez (24-0, KO17) had previously reigned as flyweight and super flyweight world champion, and was last out in November 2025, knocking Fernando Martinez in ten rounds to defend his WBC and WBO super flyweight crowns.
Vargas (19-2-1 KO11) won the interim WBA belt in 2024, and was upgraded to full champion, but his first defence in Japan ended in a draw last July, as he and Daigo Higa couldn’t be separated.
Rodriguez used his speed and feet to start well in this one, his jab working well as well as a nice uppercut finding the mark.
Vargas was wobbled as early as the second, a massive left hand did the damage, and Rodriguez unloaded with power shots too.
Vargas was giving back, and a combination landed towards the end of the frame.
Vargas had a solid third, landing combinations to head and body of his own, but back came Bam, backing Vargas up in the fourth and forcing the champion to eat several punches.
That signalled the beginning of the end, a massive left hand dropping Vargas in the fifth, and Vargas was now in survival mode taking another uppercut before bravely seeing the round out.
The sixth saw the conclusion, a big left hand rocking Vargas, and a right-left combination leaving Vargas on his knees, and then on his back as he was counted out.
Elif Nur Turhan vs Gabriela Tellez
On the undercard, Elif Nur Turhan (14-0, KO8) defended her IBF lightweight title, but had to work hard before taking a points win against Gabriela Tellez (7-1, KO3).
Three scores of 96-94 ensured the Turk retained her crown.
Remaining Undercard
Arturo Cardenas (18-0-2, KO9) defended his WBC Continental Americas super bantamweight title, as he widely outscored Jordan Martinez (16-1-1, KO15) over ten rounds.
Scores of 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 sealed victory for Cardenas.
View this post on Instagram
Elias Montoya Terraza (14-0, KO9) won the battle of unbeatens at lightweight, as he scores a second-round stoppage win against Adrian Rodriguez (10-1, KO6).
In eight-round contests, Ronny Alvarez (7-0, KO6) took a seventh-round super middleweight win against Filip Stankovic (9-4, KO6), and Trini Ochoa (22-1, KO10) was a second round winner against Cristian Perez (12-5-1, KO7) at super lightweight.
In six-rounders, Hector Beltran (8-0, KO6) took a second-round win against Shaquile Felicia (3-2, KO1) at super welterweight, and Xechal Esquiviel (6-0, KO5) knocked out Rayshawn Taylor (1-2-1, KO1) in their featherweight bout.
The post Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez vs Antonio Vargas – Results & Post-Fight Report appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.