The bout, if a deal is completed, would feature The Ring\u2019s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer, \u201cThe Monster\u201d Inoue, against Bam, who is No. 4. Inoue, 33, would defend his Ring Magazine championship at 122 pounds.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez, The Ring\u2019s champion at 115 pounds, will debut at 118 in a June 13 title challenge of Antonio Vargas in Glendale, Arizona.<\/p>\n
Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs) is coming off Saturday\u2019s unanimous-decision victory<\/a> over Junto Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome in the biggest fight in Japanese history.<\/p>\n Rodriguez (23-0, 16 KOs) has never competed in Japan, but has twice traveled to the country to support his brother, Joshua Franco, for his fights from the corner.<\/p>\n \u201cIf that fight was presented to me now, I\u2019d definitely go and take it,\u201d Rodriguez, 26, said on a recent episode of the Mr. Verzace Podcast. \u201cI think me against Inoue would definitely be one of the biggest fights in the lower weight divisions.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2026 I love going to Japan anyways so if I were to fight out there for the first time, that would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n Alalshikh plans to stage the event with the biggest fan capacity possible as he seeks a stadium to break the Japanese attendance record.<\/p>\n A special edition Ring Magazine belt will be designed for the super fight to commemorate the event. <\/p>\n Mike Coppinger is The Ring\u2019s Senior Insider. Catch him every Monday on Inside The Ring on DAZN at 2 p.m. ET. Follow him on X<\/a>\/Instagram<\/a>: @MikeCoppinger. <\/p>\n