Juan Francisco Estrada is Rocky Point Mexico’s best version of “Rocky.” Only he is a lot smaller in real life, standing 5’4 and weighing 115 pounds. Tonight, “El Gallo” (the rooster) returns to the ring as the WBC super-flyweight champion. He is defending his title against Jesse “Bam Rodriguez.
Boxing experts are hyping the event as the fight of the year. The 12-round bout will be held at the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix, AZ. As so many of us know, that makes for a little over a 200-mile trip for his hometown fans attending the fight.
Juan Francisco Estrada is 34 years old with an impressive career record of 44-3 with 28 wins by knockout. Meanwhile, his opponent is a rising young star from San Antonio, TX. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is undefeated in 19 fights and won 12 of those by knockout. He is just 24 years old.
Juan Francisco Estrada – Pride of Puerto Peñasco
He was in Puerto Peñasco as the son of a fisherman. However, Juan Francisco Estrada sadly lost both of his parents when he was 7 years old. Juan was then taken in by an aunt.
He began boxing when he was 9, taking to the sport like a fish to water.
As an amateur, Estrada was on a mission to build a great resume and reputation. He came away the winner in 94 of 98 amateur bouts. By age 15, his future in boxing was so bright, Juan moved to Hermosillo the capital city of Sonora, Mexico. Hermosillo at age 15. It was already time to give himself bigger and better opportunities.
True Professional and Champion
Juan Francisco Estrada has been a professional fighter for 16 years. He was won world championships in two weight classes. But tonight, he will rely on more than his skills and experience. This is because Estrada may need his tremendous competitive heart to fight rust as well as a tough young opponent.
“It’s been a year and a half since my last fight, but I haven’t been out of the gym. I’ve been training,” said Estrada. “It’s been good for me because I like to be with my family. I like to be with my children.”
And like a true champion he added, “Everybody is saying I’m about to retire. But I consider I have about four years left in my career,” Estrada said. “So the truth is that I think a lot of people are wrong. I want to keep making history.”
No doubt bars across Puerto Peñasco will be packed with people rooting for Juan Francisco Estrada to prove he is right.