Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is taking an interesting path.

The talented 23-year-old from San Antonio had a massive 2022, during which he knocked off Carlos Cuadras to win the WBC junior bantamweight title and successfully defended against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Israel Gonzalez to become a major force at 115 pounds.

So what does he do in his first fight this year? Move down in weight to fight Cristian Gonzalez of Mexico for the vacant WBO flyweight world title Saturday in his hometown (DAZN).

That could be bad news for Gonzalez and the other elite 112-pounders, assuming Rodriguez doesn’t have trouble making that weight and stays there.

He stopped his previous six opponents before moving up from 112 and 115 for the Cuadras fight, which seems to indicate that he’s particularly strong at the lower weight. At 115, he was able to stop Sor Rungvisai but Cuadras and Gonzalez took him the distance.

On top of that, Rodriguez (17-0, 11 KOs) should be fresh on Saturday.

He couldn’t have been happier with his break-through year last year but he admitted to BoxingScene.com that it was a grueling stretch. He will have had six-plus months to recover when he steps into the ring to face Gonzalez (15-1, 5 KOs).

“I’ve definitely had enough rest,” he said.

And, finally, Rodriguez will have the advantage of fighting Gonzalez in front of a friendly crowd at the Boeing Center at Tech Port arena.

He last fought in San Antonio in June of last year, when he stunned many observers by knocking out the rugged Sor Rungvisai in the eighth round. That victory was arguably the most impressive performance of his career.

“Fights in San Antonio are just different for me,” he said. “The last one against Rungvisai in San Antonio was electric and exciting, so to get another opportunity to fight for another world title there in front of my fans is amazing.

“San Antonio means everything to me, it’s where I was born and raised, my family and my people are there and whenever I step in the ring, they are with me. I represent San Antonio when I step in the ring, and I am doing this for my city.”