Naoya Inoue urges Jesse Rodriguez to skip tune-up and fight him next

This follows Rodriguez’s trainer and manager, Robert Garcia, pushing for his fighter to have one more contest at bantamweight before moving up to take on “The Monster” in a superfight next year. Rodriguez, the WBA titleholder at 118lbs, was in talks to face WBO beltholder Christian Medina on the originally scheduled date for Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua on November 20 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

That would have left plenty of time for Rodriguez to recover before taking on Inoue in the first quarter of 2027. However, the event has since been pushed back to December 11 in Cardiff, Wales, and Rodriguez is reportedly in talks to face Medina on the undercard.

Inoue has made no secret of his desire to move up to 126lbs and is growing tired of waiting for a contest with Rodriguez. Inoue expressed his frustration on social media, posting: “I have no intention of sitting around waiting for Bam, so I’m going to start getting ready to move up to featherweight.”

Rodriguez’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, responded to the post, stating that his fighter would be ready for a fight in February or March. Garcia seemed more keen on Inoue and Rodriguez meeting in April or May, but Inoue’s promoter, Hideyuki Ohashi, quickly ruled that out, stating that plans are underway for a date in March.

Inoue, who was appearing at an exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, to celebrate his memorable battle with countryman Junto Nakatani back in May, spoke to reporters about his next contest.

“It will likely be around March of next year,” Inoue said through a translator. “While an opponent hasn’t been finalized, we are considering various names that have been rumored, as well as the possibility of moving up to the featherweight division.”

Inoue also did not seem keen on Rodriguez fighting Medina so close to a potential undisputed clash between the pair.

“It wouldn’t be realistic to fight in December and then again in March; if it’s going to happen, it has to be a direct matchup,” he said.

Inoue appears to be preparing for a move to 126lbs and an attempt to become an undisputed champion in a third division.

“I will definitely challenge the featherweight division at some point; I intend to make it my primary battleground for the latter half of my career,” Inoue said.

“I want to take on this challenge together with all of you, and I would be delighted if you could witness me becoming a featherweight champion. Let’s keep moving forward together!”

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