Following his impressive victory over Juno Nakatani, Naoya Inoue is being linked to a showdown with Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, and fellow pound-for-pound contender Shakur Stevenson has shared his prediction for the proposed fight.
Inoue defended his undisputed super-bantamweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome a month ago, strengthening his claim to the pound-for-pound number one spot, particularly after Oleksandr Usyk’s close shave against Rico Verhoeven.
With the Japanese star having cleaned out the 122lb division, fight fans are now discussing the prospect of a clash against unified super-flyweight champion Rodriguez before a planned move to featherweight.
Speaking to Matchroom Boxing, WBO super-lightweight champion Stevenson believes ‘Bam’ could prove to be Inoue’s ‘Kryptonite’, highlighting that Inoue has been knocked down by the left-handed Luis Nery and that Rodriguez, who is also a southpaw, possesses the power to floor the unbeaten sensation.
“I like Bam, I can’t go against Bam. I know Bam, Bam is my guy. I think that Inoue is a great fighter but I think that Bam may be his Kryptonite.
“I have seen him [Inoue] get dropped by a southpaw and I think that Bam punches hard enough where he could drop him too.”
Rodriguez is already set to move up from super-flyweight when he challenges for Antonio Vargas’ WBA bantamweight world title at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona next weekend. If he is successful, it is believed that the undefeated American will call for his shot at Inoue in the aftermath, moving up one more division to make it happen.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has said preliminary talks have taken place and that his man Rodriguez is more than willing to travel to Japan for the showdown.
