Teddy Atlas has considered how Jesse Rodriguez would fare against Naoya Inoue following his sixth-round finish over Antonio Vargas.
‘Bam’ dethroned Vargas to become a three-weight world champion last Saturday, yet despite scoring his sixth consecutive stoppage, many felt the 26-year-old performed below his typically elite standards.
Such high expectations can be explained by the American’s phenomenal skillset, which has seen him claim notable victories over the likes of Juan Francisco Estrada and Sunny Edwards.
In his first outing at 118lbs, though, Rodriguez came up against a sturdy opponent in Vargas, who perhaps enjoyed more success than most had anticipated.
‘Bam’ then eventually nailed the Olympian with a sharp left hand, sent him to the canvas and ultimately claimed the WBA bantamweight title.
As a result, fans are now clamouring for a showdown between Rodriguez and Inoue, who comes off a measured points victory over Junto Nakatani.
By defeating his Japanese rival, ‘The Monster’ made a seventh successful defence of his undisputed super-bantamweight crown and arguably cemented himself as the sport’s No.1 pound-for-pound star.
Given the 33-year-old’s wealth of experience, too, Hall of Fame trainer Atlas has said on his YouTube channel that he feels Inoue could perhaps be too seasoned for ‘Bam’.
“[Rodriguez is] still 26 [years old], and he’s gonna go in there with someone who could end up being one of the all-time greats.
“Bam might wind up being [an all-time great] too, but Bam’s still a little bit [behind Inoue] in his career.
“Seasoning – that could be the difference. I know Bam would be different – he’d be more tentative against a guy like Inoue – but [he] can’t afford to get tagged the way he did [against Vargas].”
On the flip side, it could be said that Inoue, at 33 years old, is more vulnerable than ever, especially if he ends up facing an elite champion like ‘Bam’.
