Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez stopped Antonio Vargas with a sixth-round knockout to become a world champion in a third weight class at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday.
Rodriguez knocked down Vargas in the fourth round before finishing the job with a straight left hand in the sixth to claim the WBA bantamweight title.
And with yet another impressive showing, the world will wait to see if a superfight between Rodriguez and Naoya Inoue will materialize next.
"I'm ready for whoever, whenever," Rodriguez (24-0, 17 KOs) said after collecting his sixth consecutive stoppage. "Put them in front of me, and I'm going to say yes."
Earlier in the week, Rodriguez's trainer, Robert Garcia, suggested to ESPN that Rodriguez might take another fight at 118 pounds before moving up to bantamweight to challenge Inoue. However, Eddie Hearn stated that it might be difficult to wait if Rodriguez performed well against Vargas.
And he didn't just perform well; he excelled and dominated another world champion.
Rodriguez, 26, carried the power up another weight class in his bantamweight debut as he traded with Vargas. Rodriguez absorbed some punches from Vargas (19-2-1) but was never in trouble against a bigger opponent.
Instead, Rodriguez's punch variety and ability to cut angles eventually mowed down Vargas and set up the finish. Vargas, who had been knocked down in two of his past three outings, was put down hard in Round 4 by a short overhand left from Rodriguez. Vargas attempted to battle his way back into the fight, but Rodriguez was too sharp and eventually connected on the fight-ending punch at the end of a beautiful four-punch combination.
"He was tougher than I thought," Rodriguez said. "He had good pop in his punches. I didn't think he had pop like that. I knew he had some, but you know, he was a lot stronger than I thought. And even after that first knockdown, he got up, and he was fighting like it never even happened. Respect to him."
Rodriguez landed 81of 213 punches (38%) to Vargas' 81 of 279 (29%). The difference was in the punch placement as Rodriguez opened up windows to punch through.
The win opens plenty of options for Rodriguez, who could stay at 118 pounds and go after another world title, with WBO champion Christian Medina at the top of the list. But it's hard to ignore how big a showdown it would be with ESPN's No. 1 and No. 3 pound-for-pound fighters.
"After Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury, 'Bam' vs. Inoue is the biggest fight in the sport, no doubt," Rodriguez's promoter, Eddie Hearn, said. "If the right offer and the opportunity comes, 'Bam' will be there. And trust me when I say he ain't getting beat.
"There's no one on this planet who's beating 'Bam' Rodriguez at 118 or 122 pounds, not even Naoya Inoue."