Naoya Inoue could be set for his toughest test yet as he gears up for a potential clash with three-division world champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, and the last person to have floored Inoue has cast his verdict on the much-reported showdown.
Inoue has been remarkable throughout a stellar career thus far, becoming a four-division world champion and multi-weight undisputed ruler, defending all four super-bantamweight titles on seven occasions to date.
‘The Monster’ has hit the deck twice since 2024 though, dropped for the first time in his career when tasked with Luis Nery and then again in a surprisingly difficult clash with Ramon Cardenas last May, with Inoue eventually winning by seventh round stoppage.
Now, it seems as though Rodriguez will be next for Inoue, in a battle that could be remembered for generations to come, and speaking to Ring Magazine, Cardenas labelled the proposed meeting as a ‘good fight for Bam’.
“Honestly, that would be a good fight. I have known Bam since he was 10 years old, I have known Bam for a long time. That will be a really good fight for Bam, for Inoue, for boxing, it will be a really good fight because both of them are really good fighters.
“I would love to see that fight happen because I know Bam is very competitive and Inoue is also very competitive. The thing about it is, with people from San Antonio, we will fight anybody, so I know that if they offered Bam that fight, he would take it right away.
“It will be good, I can’t necessarily tell you who I think will win or who I am going for but for them it will be a huge fight and I wish Bam nothing but the best if that fight happens.”
Whilst Inoue-Rodriguez is being targeted for spring 2027, it is understood that Rodriguez will first partake in a bantamweight title unification against WBO 118lb champion Christian Medina later this year.
