Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, Already Ahead of Naoya Inoue in P4P World?

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) was the biggest 115 lb. man in the world Saturday night as he beat down WBC super flyweight world champ Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Despite suffering a flash knockdown in the sixth round– the first knockdown of his career– Rodriguez was in full control throughout the contest. He had already dropped the future Hall of Famer in the fourth round and had buzzed him a few other times before delivering the liver kill shot in the seventh.

Not only did he give Estrada his first stoppage loss, but “Bam” also recaptured a super flyweight world title after temporarily moving down to flyweight to win two world title belts there.

Jesse Rodriguez’s Legendary Run

Rodriguez’s run over the last two years or so has been oustanding, but it’s especially impressive from someone who’s only 24. It’s so impressive that we need to have a serious talk about something that people take way more seriously than they should– pound-for-pound status.

If you can scrape up a coherent, universally agreed-upon set of criteria for pound-for-pound rankings, you must be some kind of master sleuth or, perhaps, someone living in an absolute fantasy world. Being real, though, pound-for-pound is bullsh*t. We’ll leave the “why” for another day, but let’s just say that all of that nonsense is fantasy talk meant to take up time and space for clicks and engagement.

…But…

Let’s pretend that pound-for-pound is a real thing, with actual measurable, objective ranking standards and not just something with “I like this guy” as a main rating criterion.

Pound-for-Pound Versus Naoya Inoue

A case could be made that “Bam” Rodriguez belongs right beside current “P4P” sweetheart, Naoya “Monster” Inoue on those fantasy rankings– and not seven spots (or more) behind the Japanese star. Hell, as of this writing, some of the crews that make these lists don’t even have Rodriguez in the Top 10 as Inoue rests as an almost universal no. 2.

If we look at resumes, though, Inoue and Rodriguez are not that far apart. “Monster” has an edge, if only for the fact that he has more names on his ledger. But Nonito Donaire (twice), Stephen Fulton, Luis Nery, and Omar Narvaez are not substantively all that much better than “Bam’s” high-water mark victories over Juan Francisco Estrada, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Carlos Cuadras, and Sunny Edwards.

Inoue has won more belts and is a two-time fully-unified champ, but that shouldn’t matter to a group of ranking board panelists/media who repeat, ad nauseam, how the sanctioning bodies (and their belts) don’t matter.

In terms of skill, ability, and in-ring performance, Inoue and Rodriguez are, again, neck-and-neck. Both are pint-sized executioners adept at closing shows in spectacularly violent fashion. There are not seven, eight, ten, twelve spots separating the two in that regard.

If one wanted to be a real proverbial turd in the pound-for-pound punch bowl, the case could be made that Rodriguez’s best wins top Inoue’s top wins when it comes to level of opposition and experience of opposition.

Tipped Scales For A Media Darling

Inoue, however, is a media darling. He is like the indy rock band music critics love to champion. He became “big” to media because he wasn’t “mainstream big.” He was that gem discovered away from the US/UK scene and they’ve been embracing him as untouchable awesomeness ever since. Yeah, he’s earned the fawning praise, but the deference he gets (not just in P4P rankings) can be reality-warping at times.

So, is this pound-for-pound conversation worth having? “Bam” and “Monster” sharing the same spot or with one just a half-step below the other– in mythical rankings whose only significance revolves around bragging rights for the fighters listed?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But the absurdity of these two fighters being ranked so far apart does kind of point out the absolute subjective nonsense of “pound-for-pound.”