Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez violently stopped Antonio Vargas with a sixth-round knockout to become a world champion in a third weight class at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Rodriguez dropped Vargas in round four before finishing the job with a straight left hand in Round six to claim the WBA bantamweight title.
And with yet another impressive showing under his belt, the world will wait to see if a superfight between "Bam" and Naoya Inoue will materialize next.
"I'm ready for whoever, whenever," Rodriguez (24-0, 17 KOs) said after collecting his sixth consecutive stoppage. "Put them in front of me and I'm going to say yes."
Earlier in the week, Rodriguez's trainer, Robert Garcia, had suggested to ESPN that "Bam" may take another fight at 118 pounds before moving up to bantamweight to challenge Inoue. However, Eddie Hearn stated that it may be difficult to wait if Rodriguez performed well against Vargas.
And he didn't just perform well; he excelled and dominated another world champion.
Rodriguez, 26, carried the power up another weight class in his bantamweight debut as he opted to stand and trade with Vargas. Rodriguez ate some punches from Vargas (19-2-1) but was never in any sort of trouble against a naturally bigger opponent.
Instead, Rodriguez's punch variety and ability to cut angles eventually mowed Vargas down and set up the finish. Vargas, who had been knocked down in two of his last three outings, was put down hard in Round 4 by a short overhand left from Rodriguez. He attempted to battle his way back into the fight, but "Bam" was too sharp and eventually connected on the fight ending punch at the end of a beautiful four-punch combination.
"He was tougher than I thought," Rodriguez said. "He had good pop in his punches. I didn't think he had pop like that. I knew he had some, but you know he was a lot stronger than I thought. And even after that first knockdown, he got up, and he was fighting like it never even happened. Respect to him."
The punch stats were close, with Rodriguez landing 81of 213 punches (38%) to Vargas' 81 of 279 (29%). The difference was in the punch placement of "Bam" as his shifting managed to open up windows to punch through.
The win opens plenty of options for Rodriguez, who could stay at 118 pounds and go after another world title, with WBO champion Christian Median at the top of the list. But it's hard to ignore how big a showdown with ESPN's No. 1 and No. 3 pound-for-pound fighters would be.
"After Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury, 'Bam' vs. Inoue is the biggest fight in the sport, no doubt," Rodriguez's promoter, Eddie Hearn, said. "If the right offer and the opportunity comes, 'Bam' will be there. And trust me when I say he ain't getting beat.
"There's no one on this planet who's beating 'Bam' Rodriguez at 118 or 122 pounds, not even Naoya Inoue."
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