{"id":237738,"date":"2025-11-01T11:53:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T11:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/237738\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T11:53:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T11:53:19","slug":"bam-rodriguez-isnt-in-a-rush-but-he-wants-to-fight-inoue-and-nakatani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/237738\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Bam\u2019 Rodriguez Isn\u2019t In A Rush, But He Wants To Fight Inoue And Nakatani"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jesse \u201cBam\u201d Rodriguez<\/a> wanted to fight Junto Nakatani<\/a> next.
Their teams engaged in negotiations, but Nakatani decided to give up his Ring, IBF and WBC bantamweight titles to compete in the junior featherweight division. Rodriguez then signed a contract to fight fellow undefeated 115-pound champ Fernando Martinez on November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia<\/a>.
The Ring\/WBC\/WBO champ is fully focused on meeting Martinez next month, but he acknowledged during an appearance on the newest episode of \u201cInside The Ring\u201d that he still wants to test himself against Nakatani and the most accomplished Japanese fighter of all, Naoya Inoue<\/a>.
Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) and Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) are on their own collision course. They are expected to fight sometime in the first half of 2026 if Inoue, boxing\u2019s undisputed 122-pound champion, defeats Mexico\u2019s Alan Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs)<\/a> and Nakatani beats another unbeaten Mexican, Sebastian Hernandez (20-0, 18 KOs)<\/a>, on \u201cThe Ring V: Night of the Samurai\u201d card December 27 in Riyadh.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KOs) nevertheless has designs on securing fascinating fights against both big punchers who\u2019ve thrived in higher weight classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, my next fight was supposed to be Nakatani,\u201d Rodriguez told co-hosts Max Kellerman and Mike Coppinger. \u201cThings were already in the works, so you know, that just goes to show that I\u2019m willing to fight whoever, whenever. But obviously, things didn\u2019t go that way, so here I am fighting Martinez. But those two fights are definitely two fights that I do wanna get in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez will first pursue undisputed status in the junior bantamweight division if he wins against Argentina\u2019s Martinez, who owns the WBA belt. That would require Rodriguez to also beat the winner of the bout between IBF champ Willibaldo Garcia Perez<\/a> (23-6-2, 13 KOs) and Kenshiro Teraji<\/a> (25-2, 16 KOs) on the Inoue-Picasso undercard at Mohammed Abdo Arena.<\/p>\n

San Antonio\u2019s Rodriguez will move up to the bantamweight limit of 118 pounds if he fully unifies the 115-pound crowns. With Inoue and Nakatani likely to meet in a 122-pound showdown, the 25-year-old Rodriguez isn\u2019t certain how high he\u2019ll need to move up in weight to secure fights with either of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I\u2019m not too sure,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI never, you know, thought about that. I always imagined me and Inoue at 122 or Nakatani at 118. But, like you said, Nakatani, he moved up, so it\u2019s really hard to say. But, you know, there\u2019s a lot of time. I\u2019m still young and got a lot to go, so there\u2019s no rush.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ring ranks Rodriguez sixth on its pound-for-pound list<\/a>, three spots below the third-rated Inoue and one spot atop the seventh-ranked Nakatani.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have been mentioning [the Inoue] fight even before I became who I am today,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cSo, I know when that fight does happen it\u2019s gonna be huge for the sport of boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n

DraftKings lists Rodriguez as a 9-1 favorite to beat Martinez, The Ring\u2019s No. 1 contender for Rodriguez\u2019s championship<\/a>. Their 12-round bout is part of a four-fight DAZN Pay-Per-View show that costs $59.99 in the United States and \u00a324.99 in the UK<\/a>.
American David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) is set to defend his WBC light heavyweight title against England\u2019s Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) in the 12-round main event<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.<\/p>\n

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