{"id":647313,"date":"2026-05-03T17:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T17:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/647313\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T17:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T17:20:09","slug":"eddie-hearn-backs-jesse-bam-rodriguez-to-beat-naoya-inoue-after-nakatani-fight-eddie-hearn-backs-jesse-bam-rodriguez-to-beat-naoya-inoue-after-nakatani-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/647313\/","title":{"rendered":"Eddie Hearn backs Jesse \u2018Bam\u2019 Rodriguez to beat Naoya Inoue after Nakatani fight Eddie Hearn backs Jesse \u2018Bam\u2019 Rodriguez to beat Naoya Inoue after Nakatani fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest fights boxing can make right now, according to Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn<\/a>, is a clash between his top U.S. star Jesse \u2018Bam\u2019 Rodriguez and pound-for-pound standout Naoya Inoue. Hearn believes the matchup has all the ingredients to become a defining bout in the lower weight divisions. And he is on the run, pushing the fight to make it happen.<\/p>\n

Recently, Hearn shared his thoughts on the potential fight. He believes Rodriguez would defeat Naoya Inoue if the two met, following Inoue\u2019s recent title defense against Junto Nakatani,<\/a> where, in a close contest, he secured 116-112,115-113 and 116-112 unanimous decision victory at Tokyo Dome in Japan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The potential matchup has gained traction after Inoue\u2019s latest outing, in which more than 55000 fans showed up, which shows how popular the \u2019Monster\u2019 is. \u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Hearn, Inoue vs Nakatani appeared more competitive than expected and raised fresh questions about future opponents.<\/p>\n

Speaking after the Matchroom Boxing event at Wolverhampton, Hearn admitted he had only watched part of the bout but still formed a strong opinion on a possible clash between Inoue and Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly a very small bit of it\u2026 But I\u2019ve never been more convinced that Jesse \u2018Bam\u2019 Rodriguez beats him,\u201d Hearn said, addressing a press video shared by Seconds Out on the YouTube channel.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

He explained that while he previously viewed the fight as a difficult step up for Rodriguez, his opinion has shifted significantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a long time, I thought it might be a step too far for Jesse, but now he\u2019s at bantamweight and feels big and strong there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesse \u2018Bam\u2019 Rodriguez backed for skill and mindset<\/p>\n

Hearn emphasized that Rodriguez\u2019s skill set and mentality would give him the edge over Inoue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think he\u2019s too good for him,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s 26 years old\u2026 I don\u2019t see Bam losing to Inoue.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also pointed to Rodriguez\u2019s confidence and willingness to fight anywhere as a major factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cBam\u2019s got it in here\u2026 he\u2019ll go to Japan tomorrow. There\u2019s absolutely no doubt in his head that he beats Inoue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearn also stressed that timing will be crucial if the fight is to materialize. With Inoue expected to move up in weight in the near future, the window for the bout may be limited.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s going to stay at 122 forever. Once he goes to 126, that fight\u2019s over. It just won\u2019t happen,\u201d Hearn said.<\/p>\n

As a result, he urged both sides to act quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s make it sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before any potential clash with Inoue, Rodriguez still has business to handle. He is set to face a tough opponent in Antonio Vargas<\/a>, a fight Hearn acknowledged will not be easy. The fight will take place on June 13 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, for the WBA bantamweight title.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, if Rodriguez comes through successfully, the calls for a showdown with Inoue are likely to grow even louder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the biggest fights boxing can make right now, according to Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn, is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,7427,13414,13409,85],"class_list":["post-647313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-jesse-rodriguez","tag-junto-nakatani","tag-naoya-inoue","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}