Sunny Edwards: Briton threatened to pull out of Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez fight over basketball tickets

In his BBC Sport column, Barry Jones described Rodriguez versus Edwards as the "Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk of the flyweights".

The rivals' face-off at the news conference on Thursday lasted a full seven minutes, with neither man willing to break the stare first.

Hearn says the bout will decide the best fighter in the division and speaking to 5 Live Boxing, he said: "It's the perfect fight for boxing. There are a few unanswered questions about both guys.

"Bam has not fought an elite guy in the division who is in his prime. And Sunny has never fought anyone on the level of Bam."

Edwards, who has brimmed with confidence all week in Phoenix, puts his 20-0 unbeaten career on the line against Rodriguez's 18-0 undefeated record.

The Englishman beat South Africa's Moruti Mthalane in 2021 to claim the IBF belt, while Rodriguez is already a two-weight world champion after beating Hall of Fame contenders Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Cuadras.

But Rodriguez's record to date has not impressed Edwards, who is predicting a wake-up call for the American in their fight.

"I'm the champion. Done more experience. More fights. More world-title fights. And the only one between the pair of us that has beaten a world champion," Edwards said.

"Every single accolade he's got has been vacant. Hand-picked opponents. Easy.

"For me I'm in great confidence of how this fight will go. Yes, of course he's a threat.

"Yes, of course he's a great fighter. But as the number one in the division, as the longest reigning champion, it's expected for it to be like this.

"I want the hardest fights. They say Bam is the guy and he's the one I want."

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