Robert Garcia admits there is one man who would have beaten Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez in his prime

Having previously trained Nonito Donaire, Robert Garcia has considered how his current charge, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, would fare against the lower-division legend.

Donaire became a multi-division world champion under the tutelage of Garcia, remaining unbeaten at the top level before losing to Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2013.

The Filipino would then go on to compete in several featherweight outings, before dropping back down to 118lbs and facing Naoya Inoue in 2019.

Their thrilling encounter ultimately saw Inoue claim a unanimous decision victory, while their rematch in 2022 resulted in a second-round stoppage defeat for Donaire.

Still fighting at the age of 43, ‘The Filipino Flash’ is considered one of the all-time greats at bantamweight, where ‘Bam’ Rodriguez hopes to become a three-division world champion in his next outing.

The 26-year-old will face Antonio Vargas, the WBA champion, on June 13, after having unified the super-flyweight division with back-to-back stoppages over Phumelela Cafu and Fernando Martinez.

Victory could then see him enter an undisputed super-bantamweight clash with Inoue, who, like ‘Bam’, is widely considered to be a top five pound-for-pound star.

As for a prime-for-prime showdown with Donaire, top trainer Garcia has told The Spit Bucket Podcast that, while Rodriguez still has time to prove him wrong, he would have to favour his former fighter.

“Bam loves Nonito – Nonito’s his favourite fighter – and Bam might not like it but I think I would pick Nonito.

“Bam still has at least three-four years left in his career. There’s still so much that he’s gonna show, that he’s gonna do, that he’s gonna accomplish.

“Nonito, with me, we accomplished a lot.”

Garcia recalls Donaire’s second-round finish over Fernando Montiel in 2011 as a particularly memorable moment, while expecting ‘Bam’ to achieve similar success in his career.