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.
"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 outlanded Cafu 218-144 in total punches in his third straight knockout victory. He credited Cafu for taking the fight to him Saturday night.
"I knew he had power, but not like that," he said. "And he can take a shot. He didn't stop. He was in it to win. He had a good game plan. Him and his team worked 100 percent, I can tell. So, like I said, all my credit to Cafu."
Rodriguez (22-0), who is ESPN's No. 6-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, 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.
