Why do they call Jess Rodriguez ‘Bam’? Where does the nickname come from?
Jesse Rodriguez hopes to become the unified flyweight World champion when he faces Sunny Edwards tonight at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Rodriguez, who goes by “Bam,” is looking to go by another name soon, though - unified world champion.
The 23-year-old American professional boxer shared his feelings ahead of the bout in Arizona: “We wanted it, and that’s why we’re here... my hand will be raised in victory, and I am taking his belt, his ‘0′ and it’s time…Bam Rodriguez, unified champion on Saturday night.”
Why is Jesse Rodriguez called ‘Bam”?
Rodriguez’s father named him Bambino at birth, which means “little child” or “baby” in Italian. After being called “Bambi for a while,” said Rodriguez, the boxer started going by Bam instead.
“They called me Bambi for a while,” says Rodriguez. “But I didn’t like that too much.”
Bam is one of a few promising champions in San Antonio after becoming the first local prizefighter since “Jesse” James Leija in 1994 to win a major world championship; with his opportunity tonight, he could even outdo his childhood hero.