Briton Sunny Edwards threatened to pull out of his unification bout in fight week if Matchroom did not provide him with basketball tickets.

But the Briton was expecting tickets to the Phoenix Suns’ game against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn said he “spent a fortune” on the last-minute tickets to keep Edwards happy.

“Sunny is very lively,” Hearn said. “He said if I didn’t get him courtside basketball tickets he wasn’t fighting.”

Edwards is a prolific user of X, formerly known as Twitter, and loves to argue with boxing fans on social media in the build-up to his fights.

He even publicly called out his promoter on social media on Tuesday, saying he had been “promised” the tickets if he agreed to fight in the United States.

The Londoner is fighting in the US for the first time as a pro and has agreed to take on unbeaten 23-year-old Rodriguez on his home turf.

The public plea worked for Edwards, who only signed with Hearn’s Matchroom in March.

The Rodriguez bout is his second fight under Matchroom’s banner and the first time Edwards has been given the chance to unify the flyweight division.

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.”