Robert Garcia, the trainer and manager of Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, has expressed his annoyance with a lack of communication from Team Nayoa Inoue.
‘The Monster’ made a seventh successful defence of his undisputed crown in May, unanimously outpointing Junto Nakatani in their all-Japanese encounter.
As a result, Inoue is not only considered the super-bantamweight king but, on a pound-for-pound metric, many would also place him at the top of the tree.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, made his bantamweight debut in June, becoming a three-division world champion by dethroning WBA champion Antonio Vargas with a sixth-round finish.
While there is much talk surrounding a potential clash between Rodriguez and Inoue, it would seem that no official negotiations have actually taken place.
Or at least, it is far from certain that the pair will square off in March 2027, when Inoue is reportedly looking to stage his next outing. He recently stated that he will not hang around at 122lbs waiting for ‘Bam’, and will move on if the fight does not happen in Q1 of 2027.
On the proposed showdown, coach Garcia has told Ring Magazine that he and ‘Bam’ have no problem with the deadline.
“There’s been talk that Inoue says he’s moving up [to featherweight] sooner than later – that he probably won’t wait [for the Rodriguez fight] past March of next year.
“We’re okay with that, but nobody’s told me that. Nobody from Inoue’s team has approached me saying, ‘Look, Robert. This is what Inoue wants. He wants to know if you guys are interested in the fight’.
“Yeah, we’re interested in the fight. But I’m not trying to change the date. I would love Bam to get one more fight at 118[lbs].”
Garcia went on to name WBO bantamweight champion Christian Medina as the ideal opponent for Rodriguez in November, before he hopefully steps up to 122lbs and challenges Inoue.
