Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs. Takuma Inoue - Who wins?

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Bam Rodriguez may face Takuma Inoue before Naoya: ‘The perfect storyline’

Could it be Takuma Inoue, not Naoya, next for Bam Rodriguez?

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez will look to become a three-division world champion this Saturday against Antonio Vargas, who holds the WBA bantamweight title.

But much of the talk around Bam is not about that fight, it’s about what could come next, and that’s Naoya Inoue, the undisputed champion and a man some believe to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing today.

And while promoter Eddie Hearn says that fight should be made next — of course, provided Bam beats Vargas, as he’s expected to do — there may be other plans.

Trainer Robert Garcia has suggested Rodriguez could face Naoya’s brother, Takuma Inoue, who holds the WBC bantamweight title, as a way to build even more anticipation for Naoya vs Bam.

Rodriguez seems to like the idea, too, as he discussed the possible plan with Manouk Akopyan of The Ring.

“I think that’s, like, almost the perfect storyline, beating his brother and then going in and fighting the second brother,” Bam said, while stressing that his mind is, for now, only on Antonio Vargas.

“I just need to stay focused on this fight, man. It’s a tough fight that I have in front of me. I know I can get the job done. I will get the job done. After that, we can talk about the future.”

Takuma (22-2, 5 KO) would mainly be “storyline” advancement, and not particularly great preparation to face Naoya — then again, it can be argued that nobody is particularly great preparation to face Naoya. The Inoue brothers both lean on strong fundamentals and technique, don’t make a lot of mistakes, but Naoya is a much harder puncher, faster, and has better athletic gifts. Simply put, he’s a much better fighter, and Takuma is a pretty damn good fighter himself.

Rodriguez also says he may be willing to entertain a fight with Junto Nakatani, who gave Naoya some strong competition in a terrific fight in early May, and will be ready to fight “whomever, whenever.”

The Naoya Inoue fight, though, really is what most people want to talk about, and Bam gets why.

“I know when that (Naoya) Inoue fight does happen, the fans are in for a great night of boxing,” he said. “People are already talking about that fight so much that it’s inevitable at this point. When the time comes, it’s gonna be a great fight, probably one of the best fights in boxing history.”

[2459148]

The storyline would be great, but I don't see Takuma causing Bam too many problems. Bam by clear decision or late stoppage for me Drift Hunters

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[gregregegg]

It makes sense for bam. Let’s him acclimatise t the weight a bit, makes the big fight bigger… and bam is most likely getting better where as inoue is most likely getting worse.

Dosent make sense for inoue though. He has to find another opponent and there really isn’t one. Goodman? Tsnami? Eh…. It also delays any chance to go to feather if he wants to do that…

I mean as a stay busy would choclatio still be a big fight at 122? Bit unfair on choc but probably a bigggg payday.

[gilgamesh]

It would be good business for this fight to come before Bam vs Naoya. Hope they do this.

[Ruthless-RKO]

It would be good business for this fight to come before Bam vs Naoya. Hope they do this.

If they want the perfect storyline, then it will need to

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TAKUMA INOUE COULD BE UP NEXT FOR 'BAM' RODRIGUEZ

Takuma Inoue likes the way Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez thinks.

Rodriguez (23-0, 16 KOs) appears to be on track to face fellow pound-for-pounder Naoya Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs) in one of the biggest possible fights sometime soon, assuming the American gets past WBA 118-pound champion Antonio Vargas on Saturday night.

One idea isn't to move directly into the superfight, however. Rodriguez likes the notion of facing Takuma as a lead-in the bigger fight.

“Beating his brother and then fighting the second brother,” Rodriguez told The Ring. “That’s the perfect storyline to the Naoya Inoue fight.”

Takuma Inoue, who holds the WBC bantamweight title, is all for a possible unification bout.

“It’s hot,” Takuma wrote on his X account. “I’d definitely love to do it!”

Takuma (22-2, 5 KOs) isn’t as ballyhooed as his brother, but he's on a hot streak, winning nine of his last 10. And he's ranked No. 2 in the bantamweight division by The Ring.

Still, he'd be a massive underdog against the more accomplished Rodriguez. The Ring’s No. 4 ranked fighter pound for pound has run through the competition, including knockouts of unbeaten opponents Phumelela Cafu and Fernando Martinez last year.

As for Naoya, he’s coming off arguably the biggest win of his career. The Ring’s No. 1 ranked pound-for-pounder faced off against Junto Nakatani in an all-Japanese showdown in May, winning a clear unanimous decision to retain his 122-pound Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO titles.

Takuma could soon have his chance to do something special.