A spectacular evening unfolded last night at Riyadh’s ANB Arena during “The Night of Champions” Ring IV, presented by Riyadh Season. It truly was a night of champions, with thrilling bouts featuring some of the best fighters in the world. One of them, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (22-0), a remarkable fighter present in every P4P list, needs no introduction. In the opposite corner stood Fernando “Puma” Martinez (18-0), the Argentine WBA champion in the super flyweight division. Rodriguez, meanwhile, held the WBC and WBO titles, with only the IBF belt missing to complete the set.
It was a brutal, physical fight, but in the end Rodriguez’s intelligence, speed and overall superiority prevailed, as he closed the show with a phenomenal punch in the tenth round.
When the first bell rang, the southpaw Rodriguez immediately went on the attack, advancing and landing his jab repeatedly. Martinez defended well, blocking punches and firing back with hook combinations. In fact, Rodriguez surprisingly felt the impact after a strong right hook from his opponent.
In the second round, the Argentine began loading up on every punch, but Rodriguez slipped in and out extremely quickly, often making his rival miss while staying composed and focused.
The real difference, from the third round onward, came from “Bam’s” sharp and spectacular changes of direction, paired with equally accurate and explosive counter shots. He was visibly faster than his opponent, who remained concentrated despite the match becoming increasingly complicated for him.
In the fourth round, Martinez understood he needed to increase the pressure and tried to trade at close range, but Rodriguez was quicker, used his legs well, controlled the distance precisely and was hard to catch. Toward the end of the round, “Bam” began unloading continuous two-handed combinations, and the Argentine lost clarity, struggling to counter his opponent’s attacks.
“Puma” started the fifth round with a tighter guard and appeared bothered by his nose. High guard, single-hook counters, while Rodriguez kept working non-stop with straights, hooks and uppercuts. What a beautiful display of boxing from the fighter from San Antonio.
In the sixth round as well, Rodriguez maintained the center of the ring with suffocating footwork and upper-body movement. He darted in and out with great speed, while Martinez continued throwing single shots, visibly exhausted by his opponent’s constant pressure.
The seventh began with an immediate hard exchange. Martinez, driven by pride, tried to land a few combinations, while Rodriguez continued dictating the pace and staying precise. Even “Bam” started throwing heavier shots, which Martinez managed to absorb—though with great difficulty.
In the eighth round, “Puma” let loose with very powerful close-range punches, loading up all of them, but Rodriguez cut off the ring perfectly and gave him no escape with combinations that were simply too fast and accurate.
Rounds nine and ten followed the same script, the same pace dictated by “Bam” (for me, clearly ahead in every round), and then the inevitable happened—it was in the air all along. After a masterful defensive move by Rodriguez on a right cross from the Argentine, the American slipped and countered with a lethal left hook that ended the fight. What a shot!
There are levels in boxing—we know it. Levels that can be brutally cruel, capable of overwhelming strong fighters when they face true elite talents.
We’ve seen it many times in the past: unstoppable prospects destroying previously unbeaten opponents. Tonight history repeated itself. Jesse Rodriguez keeps winning, dominating, collecting belts and climbing the P4P rankings.
Will he now go and take the IBF title as well? We’ll see. But one thing is certain: Jesse Rodriguez is a phenomenon—spectacular, efficient, and destined to dominate for a long time.