Unbeaten two-division champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez added a second belt to his 115-pound collection, defeating Phumelela Cafu by 10th-round TKO on Saturday night in Frisco, Texas, in their junior bantamweight title unification bout.
Rodriguez, who entered as the WBC titleholder, added Cafu’s WBO belt. Rodriguez staggered Cafu with a vicious flurry in the 10th, forcing the previously unbeaten Cafu’s corner to throw in the towel at 2 minutes, 7 seconds.
Rodriguez outlanded Cafu 218-144 in total punches.
“I felt like it was a good performance,” Rodriguez said. “Probably my best performance up to today, against my toughest opponent, my toughest fight yet. [Cafu was] a lot tougher than I thought he was going to be, but we got the job done no matter what.”
Rodriguez (22-0) was making the second defense of his WBC title, which he won in a thrilling knockout victory over Juan Francisco Estrada in June 2024. Rodriguez is in line to face Fernando Martinez for the WBA title.
Cafu (11-1-3), who fought in the U.S. for the first time, won the WBO belt last time out in an October 2024 victory over Kosei Tanaka in Japan.
