Bam is making a name for himself at Super Flyweight, especially at such a young age. How do you think he would have done against arguably one of the best Super Flyweight champs in history Gilberto Roman? For those who aren’t familiar with this fighter Roman was a very skilled boxing technician who was Nacho Beristain's earliest pupils before he trained Juan Manuel Marquez and Ricardo Lopez. Slick fighter with great footwork and fast hands. At his best he would have given a lot of fighters at 115 a tough night, including Bam. Canelo himself has said that Gilberto Roman was one of his top favorite Mexican fighters and has even studied his fights to improve his defense. That's how good Roman was in his prime. This content is protected This content is protected
Roman was an artist with his fists and feet. You can see him thinking and working it out in real time.
He was so smooth and pleasing to watch. Great stylist and a clever fighter, like watching a bigger version of Miguel Canto. His fights with Santos Laciar is an underrated rivalry, their first and second fight is great.
Roman especially looked great when he beat a very talented southpaw Jiro Watanabe, who I think was just as gifted as Bam. This content is protected
I would favor a peak Roman against the bam of today. But I expect bam to be greater than Roman when bam peaks at about 27-30 yo. At no time would it be an easy fight for either one. Too much natural talent in both.
^^^^ This is a great answer. Bam will get better but, as of now, Roman deserves the edge in this matchup.
Probably bam just due to size, strength and durability at that weight. His real test will be at 118-122 where guys will be his size.
Nakatani will be the real test for him. They’re close enough in age and size that it has to happen. I don’t see how either man could someday retire happy with their resume if they don’t fight. As to Inoue… I have said in trolling, but it’s probably true, that one day Bam will knock out Inoue. May well be the first fighter to do so. Unfortunately, it’ll happen when Inoue is 40. (sorry, can’t resist).
At present, you'd have to take the Roman of Watanabe over the Bam of Estrada, but it wouldn't be easy or lopsided and danger would be present throughout the fight. That said, if Bam continues to progress, I might be inclined to pick him in the not too distant future.