OVERALL: Who has more POTENTIAL, Vergil Ortiz Jr or Jesse Rodriguez?

I think when we see these young undefeated fighters fight other young prime hungry fighters who have speed and power, everything changes. Bam is elite not doubt but he’s not fighting prime dudes who can put his lights out. Vergil last 2 fights are against dudes who are explosive, young and have power. Bam also has a huge size advantage against the guys he fights. This is like the equivalent of Vergil staying at 140. I know he can’t make the weight but he’s fighting actual killers. If he fights the dude who beat Tim Zoo he’ll arguably have the toughest 3 fight stretch.

 

i can see he does everything better than vergil. better defense, more precise offense, better general, never seen him looked exhausted, the heart to fight and win injured, etc... most people dont understand how good bam really is for a 24 yo. maybe because they dont understand that most of these attributes dont come naturally to fighters. you may be born with the ability to throw a punch with beautiful technique, but the rest takes time, learning, and practice. to be able to master the punch technique for his entire selection, plus the footwork to place yourself exactly where you need to be for the angle of the punch you selected, is a special level of play he is zoning in.

 

he has fought legit fighters, both old and young, and made em all look out of their league. he is no bigger than inoue was when he was beating up nobodies at these weights. at least bam beat guys with names that will still be heard in 20 years.

 

Bam ran back down to 112 after having a tough fight at 115. Agreed Inoues resume wasn’t super impressive at that weight. His best wins are probably Taguchi who I would rate better than anyone Bam had beat (not prime wise, obviously prime Estrada is better than Taguchi) and an old Navarez who is probably similar equivalent to Estrada though id rate that Estrada higher. Point being they were both old. Unlike Bam though, after getting his eye socket broken at 118 against Donaire he didn’t run back down to 115, and continued to move up in weight, proving he can beat young fighters in their prime like Fulton or devastating punchers like Nery.

Maybe Bam proves me wrong, but I’d bet Junto beats him in a competitive fight. Forget Inoue, that would be a one sided beat down. I won’t even demand that from Bam. Bam hasn’t shown he wants to take those type of fights, vs a Vergil would have 100% have fought a Junto already.

 

he said before the fight he was going back down because he wanted to unify before moving up permanently. hes doing exactly what he said he plans to do. he is going to fight those guys at 115 and 118 that many think will be his banana peel, eventually. thats the plan. and i expect some hard fights in there occasionally, theres some tough, talented dudes down that road. but his class will show in the clutch. give him some time hes still growing in every way. he is going to peak at atg level of performances, because i dont think he will stagnate at 24.

 

I don’t even know who the other guy is not named Ortiz

 

Bam is young so he can take his time. I think he’s a good fighter but until he fights a dude bigger than him who has real power, he’s not a p4p guy for me.

Those little guys got an advantage cause the power isn’t there at that weight. Where Vergil is fighting, he could easily get clipped and knocked out.

Let’s see who’s right 5 years from now. Something tells me if Bam goes up in weight and steps up to a young hungry lion, he’s getting derailed.