Jesse Rodriguez vs Pedro Guevara Predictions: Wham, ‘Bam’, thank you man

Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez defends his WBC super flyweight title this Saturday, November 9, against Pedro Guevara. The bout takes place as part of a huge card at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia headlined by Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs Karen Chukhadzhian. DAZN will broadcast this bumper event live.

Here are my Rodriguez vs Guevara predictions ahead of this super flyweight affair.

‘Bam’ is simultaneously the present and future of boxing. The pound-for-pound roost is ruled by Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue as it stands. But Rodriguez is already good enough to call these men his peers despite being over a decade younger than ‘Bud’ and Usyk. The WBC super flyweight king is also seven years younger than Inoue, who is probably his closest equivalent in the P4P top-three.

The Ring magazine has the 24-year-old ranked seventh on their list of the best fighters in the sport. ‘Bam’ is the highest-ranked fighter still in his 20s on that list. It is a testament to his prodigious abilities that he has come so far since his 2017 debut.

Rodriguez is already a two-weight world champion and is in his second reign with the WBC super flyweight belt. He initially vacated the strap to move down to flyweight, where he unified the WBO and IBF belts. Then ‘Bam’ returned to his original weight class and scooped his old championship.

Rodriguez’s 20-fight career already ticks so many boxes. He has beaten legends of the sport, like Juan Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. The Texan has won high-pressure unification fights against unbeaten champions like Sunny Edwards. Rodriguez has cleaned out respected veterans like Carlos Cuadras and top challengers like Israel Gonzalez. Against every category of opponent, ‘Bam’ has excelled.

Guevara fits into the “former world champion”, having held the WBC belt at light flyweight almost a decade ago. Now a 35-year-old veteran, he is still capable of picking up big wins. Last time out he defeated Andrew Moloney for the WBC interim super flyweight title. Moloney was a top fighter and retired in the wake of the bout. That win earned Guevara his opportunity here.

The Mexican is no stranger to mixing it with the division’s best. Guevara beat three-time world champion Akira Yaegashi to win his WBC strap back in 2014. He has beaten former kingpins like Ganigan Lopez and Oswaldo Novoa. Guevara’s losses have come against top names too. He has been beaten by top names like John Riel Casimero and Yu Kimura in really close fights. 

Of his four losses, Guevara has never been stopped or even beaten by unanimous decision. He has three split decision defeats and one by majority decision. Every fighter that has beaten him in these narrow bouts has held at least one world title. You have to be really, really good to beat this guy.

‘Bam’ is as good as it gets. Could Rodriguez be the first person to decisively defeat Guevara? He certainly has the power to test even the most resolute chins, as the likes of Edwards and Estrada have found out recently. Of his seven decision wins, the champion has always got the unanimous nod. Something has to give in this meeting of the durable and the unstoppable.

Jesse Rodriguez vs Pedro Guevara Fight Odds

‘Bam’ is 1/20 to win the fight while Guevara is priced at 8/1. If you like the draw, that is available at 20/1. After all, Guevara has been in a lot of close fights.

Jesse Rodriguez vs Pedro Guevara Full Card

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Jesse Rodriguez © vs. Pedro Guevara - WBC super flyweight title 

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Jesse Rodriguez vs Pedro Guevara Prediction

I don’t think Guevara has seen a fighter like ‘Bam’ before. He might usually make it close, even in defeat, but I don’t see the challenger doing that here. I believe he will get tagged by Rodriguez early and often.

That trademark durability could hold Guevara for a while, but I think the strain will start to show in the middle rounds. I’m edging towards Rodriguez to win in rounds seven to nine at 5/2.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.