Unbeaten South African Phumelele Cafu knows that, despite his WBO junior bantamweight title, he will be the underdog when he fights Jesse Rodriguez in Frisco, Texas, in July.
Cafu won the title in October 2024 with an upset win over Kosei Tanaka in Japan, and he will again be on the road when he takes on Rodriguez, who holds the WBC title.
Their unification clash, at Ford Center at The Star on July 19, pits the 11-0-3 (8 KOs) Cafu against the 21-0 (14 KOs) Rodriguez.
“Bam” is one of the best fighters in the world, and therefore expected to add Cafu’s belt to his own title.
“Yeah, the pressure is not on me,” Cafu told BoxingScene. “The only person putting pressure on myself is me, because I want to be great.
“So, I’m putting pressure on myself. I’ve got to go out there and perform. I’m not going there just to be there. I’m going there to win. So I’m putting pressure on myself. Like I said, it doesn’t matter to me. I was always being written off. I fought Jackson Chawuka [who was 20-1-1] once when I had six fights, and everyone was writing me off. They never thought I’d beat Jackson. They thought Jackson would destroy me. Guess what? I came there and we fought and that fight ended up being the Fight of the Year.”
Cafu drew with Chawuka over 10 rounds when they first fought, in 2022, and he won a split decision against him when they boxed a rematch later in the year.
“Then, as I was going to Japan, people thought also with Tanaka, I’m just going there to lose,” Cafu said. “They said I’m not ready for those fights. I should have took two more fights, one or two fights.
“And guess what? I went in there and became a world champion. And also now, I think people are going to understand. They also said that I’m not ready for Bam – blah, blah, blah, blah.
“And guess what? I'll go there and become a unified champion. So, I’m ready for anything. It doesn't matter what the people think about me.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.