Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez will defend his WBC World Super-Flyweight title against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai on Saturday June 25 at the Tech Port Center + Arena in San Antonio, live worldwide on DAZN and leading a stacked quadruple header of World title action.

Tickets starting at $35 (plus fees) go on sale at 10am CDT tomorrow (Friday May 13) – click here for more details
 Rodriguez (15-0 10 KOs) makes the first defense of the belt he won in stunning fashion in February, flooring former World ruler Carlos Cuadras en-route to becoming the youngest current World champion in just his 15^th pro-outing. ‘Bam’ will get a hero’s welcome on his home turf when he steps through the ropes in San Antonio for the first time as king of the world and only the third time in his career, boxing on his doorstep in his third and fifth fights in June 2017 and March 2018 respectively. 

The 22 year old could hardly face a stiffer test when putting his belt on the line for the first time, coming up against former two-time Super-Fly kingpin Rungvisai (50-5-1 43 KOs). The Thai star was set to face Cuadras in a long-awaited rematch for the title in San Diego, only for Rungvisai to fall ill and be replaced at late notice by the new young champion. The 35 year old has a chance to get his hands on the coveted green and gold strap for a third time, having first held the belt in 2013 and then reclaiming it against Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez three years later.

“Fighting a guy like Rungvisai is going to bring me to a whole new level,” said Rodriguez. “He’s a great fighter but this is my time now. You have to take risks in this sport, that’s what special fighters do. They said it was a risk me challenging for a World title fight on short notice and now they say it’s a risk taking on a fighter like Rungvisai but this is what I want. These are the types of fights you need so you can be remembered by the fans long after your career is done.

“I’ve always said that me and my brother are going to bring the big fights back to San Antonio and this is just the start of it. We are so proud to be from this city and we get that love back from the people there so this will be a special night.”

“Jesse might be the youngest current World champion, but this is a fight where he can prove he already belongs with the very best in boxing,” said trainer Robert Garcia. “We have a lot of respect for Rungvisai, we know what he is capable of, and he is a great, great fighter but I also know what Jesse is capable. I have so much belief in him, and I know he is ready for this.”

“I am very excited for this opportunity to fight for the WBC World title,” said Rungvisai. “I will be at my best to win the WBC World title and become the first three times WBC World champion in the history of Thailand. Thank you so much to Matchroom, DAZN, and the WBC for this opportunity.”

Rodriguez and Rungvisai lead a stellar night of action with three more World title fights on the bill, with Julio Cesar Martinez and McWilliams Arroyo picking up where they left off from their curtailed firefight for Martinez’s WBC World Flyweight title, where both men hit the canvas in the opening round and Arroyo touched down again in the second, before the action in New Hampshire in November had to be halted after Arroyo suffered a nasty cut from an accidental headclash.

Arroyo (21-4 16 KOs) has been out of action since that night, while Martinez (18-2 14 KOs) bravely rolled the dice to take on modern great Chocolatito as the headline act on the night Rodriguez won his belt.

World title clash number three on the bumper card will see IBF and WBA World Super-Bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev defend his titles against Ronny Rios. The pair were set to meet in New Hampshire in November, but COVID ruled Rios out and he was replaced by game late challenger Jose Velasquez. Akhmadaliev (10-0 7 KOs) retained his belts with a near-shutout on the cards, going the distance for just the third time in his 10^th pro bout, and second as a World champion. Rios (33-3 16 KOs), the mandatory challenger for the WBA crown, goes for glory for the second time in his 36-fight career after challenging Rey Vargas for the WBC strap at 122lbs in August 2016.

The fourth bout on the card has the most belts on the line, as undisputed Welterweight ruler Jessica McCaskill makes the third defense of all her marbles at 147lbs. McCaskill (11-2 4 KOs) ripped the straps from long-standing ruler Cecilia Braekhus on the streets of Downtown Tulsa in August 2020 and saw off the Norwegian in a rematch for her first defense in March 2021. The Chicagoan recorded the fourth stoppage win of her career in the second defense of the belts in December, ending Kandi Wyatt’s challenge in the seventh, and will face the tough test of Alma Ibarra. Ibarra (10-1, 4 KOs) also then beat Wyatt in an eight-round decision in an eliminator for the WBA strap, dubbed the ‘Thrilla for Caskilla’, landing Ibarra the shot at McCaskill’s WBA, WBO, WBC, IBF and Ring Magazine World titles.

“Everyone is coming for the throne and it’s my job to protect it,” said McCaskill. 

“This is a good fight. This fight will confirm why Jessica is the queen of the Welterweight division,” added McCaskill’s trainer and manager Rick Ramos.

“I’ve won fights, I’ve lost fights, I’ve been in the big stage, I’ve fought for a world title, I’m a single mom, I’ve been kidnapped, there’s not one thing that she can bring to the fight that I haven’t seen and surpassed,” said Ibarra. “She’s just holding what’s mine, I’m here to take them!!”

El Cajon, CA (August 19, 2021) When Alma Ibarra steps into the ring at Sycuan Casino Resort tomorrow night, as part of DiBella Entertainment’s Broadway Boxing event, live on UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world will meet a woman who has been dealt as tough a hand as anyone at the poker tables outside the doors of the casino’s Heritage Event Center. They will meet a fighter who has faced adversity at every turn throughout her boxing career and fights now for an opportunity to become the first Mexican female unified world champion.

Ibarra (8-1, 4 KOs) is set to face Canada’s Kandi Wyatt (10-2, 3 KOs) in an eight-round WBA welterweight title eliminator, dubbed the “Thrilla for Caskilla.” The winner of the bout will face Jessica “CasKilla” McCaskill, who currently holds the WBO, WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO female welterweight world titles. The event will be streamed live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading streaming service for combat sports, starting at 8:00pm PT / 11:00pm ET.

The 33-year-old single mother began fighting at 19 years old. She originally stepped into the ring to lose weight, but soon found her calling between the ropes. At age 25, she gave birth to a son, Matthias, who was born with hemophilia, a condition that prevents his blood from clotting properly, and makes every scratch a medical emergency.

“How can I keep him from being a kid?” Ibarra lamented. “He wants to skateboard. He wants to fight. When I told him he can’t skateboard, that he can get hurt, he reminded me that I get punched in the face for a living. How can I be his hero and then not allow him to do the things that I do?”

Matthias loves to skateboard, and in March 2020, he had a minor accident that landed him in the hospital for two weeks. It was during the time that Ibarra was fighting to qualify to represent Mexico in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The night before her qualifying bout in Veracruz, Mexico, Ibarra received a call to her hotel room from the police. There was a threat against her, and she needed to meet officers outside the hotel to ensure her safety. She did as she was asked, walking out the front door of the hotel and to a waiting SUV that signaled her with its lights.

Once inside, Ibarra quickly figured out that the people that had taken her were not, in fact, the police, but kidnappers, looking for ransom. They drove her to a hotel a few blocks away and took her phone to call her friends and family. Twenty hours later, and a ransom not secured, Ibarra asked for something to eat. Her captors ordered pizza, but the consummate athlete refused to eat it.

“I’m an athlete,” she told them. “I am fighting. I can’t eat pizza.”

The kidnappers who, until then, had been kind, all things considered, became angry, and began roughing her up, slapping her and throwing her against the wall. She stayed quiet from then on out, wondering if she’d survive the ordeal.

After looking at security camera footage, the real police tracked the SUV to a hotel just three blocks away from hers and rescued her.

Ready to get back to qualifying, Ibarra and her manager, Hector Fernandez de Cordova, implored the Mexican National Officials to allow her to fight, but they refused. Despite having been kidnapped and held for over 20 hours, she was deemed a “no call, no show,” and was disqualified.

After the ordeal, she returned to her son’s hospital bedside, and upon his release a week later, she implored Fernandez de Cordova to secure a fight as soon as possible.

“You don’t want to take a little time off after everything you’ve been through?” he asked her.

“No,” she answered. “I have a son and my parents to support. I need money. I need to get back in the ring. I need to break someone’s nose and get this anger out of my system.”

“She’s like Wonder Woman,” Fernandez de Cordova said of his charge. “She is so incredibly strong. She’s my hero and her son Matthias idolizes her.”

She and Fernandez de Cordova saw the light at the end of the tunnel when she defeated Maricela Cornejo in March. Both cried at the decision, not just because she had won, but because they knew the sacrifice and struggle had paid off.

This Friday, she carries the weight of her family, her team and her country into the ring as she seeks to secure the biggest fight of her career. The only thing standing in the way is Kandi Wyatt. Like all other obstacles, Ibarra plans to knock her down on her way to becoming a unified world champion.

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Angel Fierro shrugged off two early round knockdowns to come back and stop former junior lightweight beltholder Alberto Machado in round six of their 10-round lightweight bout in Salinas, Puerto Rico

In round one, Machado dropped Fierro with a perfect counter right. In round two, it was another right that put Fierro on the deck.

Fierro started turning momentum in round four by working the body, and in round six, he landed a vicious left-right combination hat sent Machado crashing to the canvas. Machado could not beat the count and the fight was stopped at 47 seconds.

Fierro of Tijuana, MX is now 18-1-1 with 14 knockouts. Machado, 136 lbs of Rio Piedras, PR is 22-3.

“I’m happy, I faced a top-notch fighter tonight in Alberto Machado,” said Fierro, who was a three-to-one underdog. “He is world class and dropped me twice. But I am ecstatic that I was able to come back and beat a fighter of his caliber.”

“He dropped me twice in the beginning of the fight,” added Fierro. “When I got back to my corner, I told them, ‘remind me of my daughter.’ Because with this fight I can change her life and that’s exactly what they did after the third round. They motivated me and that’s exactly what I did.”

“We found a lot of gaps in Machado’s game in the sixth round,” stated Fierro. “I took advantage of them and I turned it around. I told you in the interview (before the fight), I didn’t come here to be a tourist in Puerto Rico. I came here to win.”

Ibarra Decisions Cornejo

Alma Ibarra won a eight-round unanimous decision over Maricela Cornejo in a middleweight bout.

Ibarra, 156 lbs of Monterrey, MEX won by scores of 79-73 twice and 77-75 and is now 8-1. Cornejo, 158 1/2 lbs of Los Angles is 13-5.

“Now the world knows who Alma Ibarra is and what she is made of,” said the victor. “To everyone, I was a stranger. And to fight against someone who is very recognized worldwide in Maricela Cornejo and beat her, this opened many doors for us.”

“I felt very good, very strong, as this is a division that I am not used to,” said Ibarra. “I always fight in lower divisions, we had to go up two divisions to take this great opportunity, and well, I think we were not wrong to take this risk.”

Martinez and Gonzalez fight to Draw

Jose Martinez and Israel Gonzalez fought to a 10-round draw in a super flyweight bout.

Gonzalez took a card 96-94 while two cards read even at 95-95.

Martinez, 117 3/4 of Las Marias, PR is now 21-1-3. Gonzalez, 117 lbs of Las Cabos, MEX is 26-4-1.

“I felt his punches, but I was the superior fighter tonight,” said Gonzalez. “He might have won three rounds but it’s OK. I’m thankful to Puerto Rico and all of the people that gave me an opportunity to be here.”

“I feel happy, satisfied with the work I did,” said Martinez. “I understand that I was fighting against a strong opponent and that I won. I pushed more. I was on top of him, but these things happen in boxing. Now it’s a matter of continuing to train, maintain myself and seek that title opportunity.”

Former world champion Angel Acosta won an eight-round unanimous decision over Gilberto Mendoza in a flyweight contest.

In Round seven, Acosta dropped Mendoza with a left hook.

Acosta, 114 lbs of San Juan, PR won by scores of 79-72 on all cards and is now 22-2. Mendoza, 113 lbs of Modesto, CA is 17-10-3.

Edwin Valentin stopped Hector Marengo at the start of round five of a scheduled six-round lightweight bout.

Marengo did not answer the bell to start the fifth round, but the official time was 11 seconds.

Valentin, 135 lbs of Salinas, PR is 10-0 with nine knockouts. Marengo, 135 1/4 lbs of Arecibo, PR is 7-15-4.

Jose Roman remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Roque Junco.

Roman, 146 1/2 lbs of Bayamon, PR won by scores of 80-71 and 80-72 twice and is now 11-0. Junco, 146 lbs of Cordobo, ARG is 10-8-1.

Joe Ward avenged his lone professional setback by pounding out a six-round unanimous decision over Marco Delgado in a light heavyweight fight.

Ward, 173.8 lbs of Moate, IRL won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 3-1. Delgado, 173.6 lbs of Turlock, CA is 7-2.

NEW YORK (November 26, 2019)–Saturday night in Quebec City, Split-T Management’s Raquel Miller captured the WBA Interim Super Welterweight world championship with a 10-round unanimous decision over Alma Ibarra.

Miller of San Francisco controlled the action and kept the previously undefeated Ibarra at bay and won by scores of 99-91 and 98-92 twice.
With the win, the fighter known as “Pretty Beast” raises her perfect mark to 10-0. 

Miller could now look towards bouts with WBA World champion Hanna Gabriels as well as Hannah Rankin and former super middleweight champion Maricela Cornejo. 

“It was a good fight.  Alma was tough, and it was a good fight.  I fought well, now I will look at the fight, and see what I could have done better.  I was dominant as I won most of the rounds.  I took this fight at the last minute, so I am happy with the fight and the result,” said Miller.

“I want to thank everyone who has and does support me.  There is more to come.  I just want to tell everyone that they can push for their dreams and don’t take no as an answer.”

Miller is promoted by DiBella Entertainment.

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New York, NY (November 12, 2019) World Ranked Raquel “Pretty Beast” Miller (9-0, 4 KOs), of San Francisco, CA, battles undefeated contender Alma Ibarra (7-0, 4 KOs), of Monterrey, Mexico, in a scheduled 10-round bout for the vacant interim WBA Super Welterweight World Title on Saturday, November 23, at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Promoted by DiBella Entertainment, Miller is world ranked #2 in the middleweight division and will be competing in the 154lb. weight class for the first time in her four years as a professional. Fighting for the third time in 2019, Miller returns to battle following a resounding seventh-round stoppage against former world title challenger Erin Toughill on May 18, in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to that, she swept all scorecards in taking a six-round unanimous decision versus Ashleigh Curry on February 28, in Dallas, TX.

Miller turned professional in May 2016, following an acclaimed amateur career. She was a 2012 National champion, a silver medalist at the 2012 Women’s World Championships, and a 2012 Olympic Team Alternate. She also won the Colorado Springs Golden Gloves tournament in 2013 and won gold at the National Police Athletic League tournament in 2014.

Ranked #2 in the super welterweight division, the 31-year-old Ibarra is coming off of her career-best victory, a fifth-round stoppage of Paty Ramirez on March 20, 2019, in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The world title fight will be her first professional bout outside of Mexico.

The event in Quebec City, promoted by Yvon Michel/GYM Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment, is headlined by IBF Women’s Super Welterweight World Champion Marie Eve Dicaire (16-0) defending her title for the third time against Ogleidis Suarez (29-3-1, 13 KOs), of Caracas, Venezuela. The winner of Miller-Ibarra will become a highly attractive adversary to face Dicaire in a future title clash.

Women’s WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Hanna Gabriels had planned to compete on this card, but she suffered a torn biceps in training which required surgery. Following the surgery, which took place on November 2, Gabriels expects to resume training in a few months.