After a career-best win against Junto Nakatani, Naoya Inoue is already being linked to a host of names, but he has been warned that he will be ‘slain’ on home turf if he accepts a clash with one rumoured dance partner.
Inoue landed the cleaner work in a unanimous decision triumph against ‘The Big Bang’ earlier this month, that being his seventh consecutive defence of the undisputed super-bantamweight title and a victory that will help define his career.
Whilst talk of a move to featherweight has been rife, Inoue announced beforehand that he plans to remain at 122lbs for one more fight.
It is beginning to become clear that unified super-flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is that man, and the Texan’s trainer, Robert Garcia, told the Ring that he believes his charge will keep up his ‘legend slayer’ tag if the fight happens.
“Bam is already known as the ‘Legend Slayer,’ and it doesn’t get any better than Inoue,
“I think the timing is perfect timing, if they end up fighting early next year. By then, we’ll have a lot of answers at 118, and we’ll have Bam back in the ring, hopefully by October, against another top bantamweight.”
“Jesse has the skills to compete against the best in the world, and he wants to fight Inoue … Inoue is still very fast and powerful, but I think Jesse has the skills, smarts and accuracy as the technical fighter to pull it off. We definitely have all of the skills to beat Inoue.”
Rodriguez has expressed his willingness to venture to Inoue’s backyard for the fight, and Saudi powerhouse Turki Alalshikh has confirmed his interest in organising a clash between the pound-for-pound stars in early 2027.
