Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez Relinquishes IBF 112-Pound Belt; Angel Ayala-David Apolinario Title Fight Ordered
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez’s time as a unified titlist was expectedly brief.
The unbeaten San Antonio native has officially vacated the IBF 112-pound title, the sanctioning confirmed on Friday to The Ring. A vacant title fight was ordered between Angel Ayala and David Apolinario.
“On Wednesday, March 27, the IBF received notification from IBF Flyweight Champion Jesse Rodriguez that he is vacating his title,” an IBF spokesperson confirmed to The Ring. “Rodriguez expressed his gratitude and pride in being the organizations champion in the note to IBF President Daryl Peoples.
“Angel Ayala and Dave [Apolinario] were ordered to negotiate for the vacant title on March 28. They have 30 days to reach an agreement.”
The new was hardly surprising, given the already confirmed plans for The Ring’s No. 1-rated flyweight and No. 10 pound-for-pound entrant.
As previously reported here, Rodriguez (19-0, 12 knockouts) will return to junior bantamweight to challenge Ring/WBC champ Juan Francisco Estrada. Their bout will headline a June 29 DAZN show from Footprint Center, home to the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.
It was also the site of Rodriguez’s first title win, in fact for the WBC 115-pound title. His February 2022 win over Carlos Cuadras came on just six days’ notice and ignited a Fighter of the Year-worthy campaign. Rodriguez defended the belt twice before he decided to drop down to flyweight.
The move saw Rodriguez claim the WBO and IBF belts in consecutive bouts. He outpointed Mexicali’s Cristian Gonzalez to win the WBO belt last April 8 in his San Antonio hometown. The feat came at a cost, as he suffered a broken jaw which left him sidelined for several months.
Rodriguez healed in time to produce perhaps his finest performance to date. An battle of unbeaten flyweight titlists saw Rodriguez beat Sunny Edwards (20-1, 4 KOs) into submission after nine rounds. Rodriguez ended Edwards’ IBF reign of more than three years, though he knew his reign would be considerably shorter.
Pre-fight chatter already suggested an eventual clash with Mexico’s Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), who recently agreed to terms for the terrific matchup. The fight was formally announced on Thursday, one day after Rodriguez relinquished the IBF belt.
Mexico City’s Ayala (17-0, 7 KOs), No. 7 at 112, is the mandatory challenger to the now-vacant IBF title. He claimed the spot after a questionable 12-round win over Felix Alvarado last October 14 in Merida, Mexico.
Still, the competitive showing provides the 23-year-old with a competitive edge in this ordered matchup of unbeaten contenders.
Apolinario (20-0, 14 KOs) is the No. 3-rated IBF contender. His resume is fairly thin, though three of his last four bouts have come outside of his native Philippines. He has won two straight in Japan, including a fourth-round stoppage of Tanes Ongjunta on February 22 in Tokyo.
The matchup was previously floated as a possibility for the already stacked May 6 Naoya Inoue-Luis Nery card in Tokyo. The plans were paused since the IBF title was not yet available.
Rodriguez still holds the WBO title, though he will likely soon vacate that belt as well.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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