Naoya Inoue has been offered another career-defining challenge before even stepping into the ring against Junto Nakatani.<\/p>\n
First and foremost, \u2018The Monster\u2019 must defend his undisputed super-bantamweight crown against Nakatani on May 2, headlining a blockbuster Japanese event at the Tokyo Dome.<\/p>\n
This represents Inoue\u2019s seventh defence of his four major titles at 122lbs, with the hard-hitting sensation having become recognised as a top two pound-for-pound star.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old\u2019s most notable victories have come against the likes of Luis Nery and Ramon Cardenas, who both floored the two-division undisputed champion but were ultimately stopped in rounds six and eight, respectively.<\/p>\n
Nakatani, meanwhile, is widely regarded as Inoue\u2019s toughest opponent thus far, despite the three-division world champion coming off a debatable points victory against Sebastian Hernandez<\/a> last December.<\/p>\n But this, in fairness, was his first outing at 122lbs, with many expecting the 28-year-old to raise his level against Inoue.<\/p>\n In a world where Inoue emerges triumphant, though, it has become increasingly likely that he will explore a potential fight with Jesse \u2018Bam\u2019 Rodriguez.<\/p>\n The unified super-flyweight champion will move up to 118lbs for his next outing, taking on WBA titlist Antonio Vargas on June 13.<\/p>\n If this next assignment proves successful, then Rodriguez has told Ring Magazine<\/a> that he would jump up a further weight class to face Inoue.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m ready whenever. If that fight was presented to me right now, I\u2019d definitely go ahead and take it.\u201d<\/p>\n