Following last month’s win over Junto Nakatani, Naoya Inoue has been linked with Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. However, Rodriguez, presuming he wins this weekend, sees a ‘perfect storyline’ feturing another name first.
Rodriguez has excelled on the world stage since announcing himself at the elite level with a 2022 victory over Carlos Cuadras, where he claimed the WBC super-flyweight world title on short notice.
Since then. ‘Bam’ has dropped down to capture the unified flyweight world title and returned to 115lbs, where a host of unifications and title defences have thrust him into pound-for-pound contention.
This weekend, he is set to move up and challenge for the WBA bantamweight crown against Antonio Vargas, seeking to become a three-division world champion ahead of an eventual bid for Naoya Inoue’s undisputed super-bantamweight throne.
Yet, speaking with Ring Magazine, Rodriguez admitted that he is interested in a showdown with WBC bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue, brother of Naoya, to build additional interest for his challenge for all four 126lb belts.
“Yeah, I think that [beating Takuma] is almost the perfect storyline to the [Naoya] Inoue fight; beating his brother and then going in and fighting the second brother.
“I feel like I just need to stay focussed on this [Vargas] fight. It’s a tough fight that I have in front of me and I know that I can get the job done, I know that I will get the job done. After June 13, then we can talk about the future.”
First, Rodriguez must come through his fight with Vargas unscathed, with the pair scheduled to meet on Saturday night in Arizona, topping a bill that will be broadcast live on DAZN.