Early talks for a super fight between Naoya Inoue and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez have been reported in recent months, but despite feelings that the fight could soon take place, one man is hoping to spoil the plans.
Inoue has ruled in four divisions so far and arguably sits as the pound-for-pound number one, particularly after Oleksandr Usyk’s performance on Saturday night, with a career-best win over Junto Nakatani earlier this month further proving his quality.
Now, some fans are pushing for ‘The Monster’ to move up to featherweight and attempt to rule in a fifth division, but it seems he will stick around for one more fight at 122lbs, welcoming up unified super-flyweight champion Rodriguez.
‘Bam’ is set to debut in the bantamweight division and take on WBA champion Antonio Vargas next month, moving within one weight-class of Inoue with a view to securing the super fight next. In an interview with FightHype, however, Vargas revealed plans to knock the Texan out.
“With him, I just think that it is just going to come down to the timing and the adjustments. Every fighter has a rhythm, every fighter has a different timing, so it’s just figuring that timing out and making sure I land the bigger and cleaner shots.
“I do believe that I am either going to have to knock him out or put him down a couple of times to make sure that the fight goes in my favour.
“He is a big name, he is the favourite to win, if the fight is close, which I am hoping it’s not, I think they’ll gravitate more towards him, so I’m, definitely going in there expecting to put him down.”
Vargas then went on to say that he feels as though he has been ‘overlooked’ as whispers of Inoue-Bam negotiations became public, warning that the rumours have instilled a ‘fire’ within him.
“At first it seemed like they were overlooking me, but at the same time, it gives me a fire. As long as I go do what I got to do on June 13, after I beat him, there is no way he is going to be able to fight Inoue.”
Vargas fights Rodriguez on Saturday, June 13, at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
