A month ago Naoya Inoue said he was done waiting and was getting ready for featherweight.
Now ?
The WBC says his team is negotiating with Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez.
That's not a rumour from a podcast. That came out of the WBC's own mandatories session at the convention in Acapulco this week.
No. 1 pound-for-pound against No. 4.
Inoue — 33-0, 27 KOs, four-weight world champion, undisputed at 122.
Rodriguez — 24-0, 17 KOs, three-weight world champion, and he just went up to bantam in June and stopped Antonio Vargas in six to take the WBA belt.
Two unbeaten men. Nobody ducking anybody.
Inoue's agent John Lewis told The Ring last month: "I'm working with Matchroom to make it happen. Both fighters want it."
The talk is Tokyo, in March, at super bantamweight.
And look what the WBC did with the rest of the division while the big boys talk — they ordered Junto Nakatani and Ramon Cardenas to fight for the interim title.
So the Monster gets the superfight.
And the two men who gave him the most trouble fight each other for the right to be next.
That's how you run a division.
Can Bam carry his power up another weight against the best fighter on the planet ?
Or does Inoue add one more name to a list nobody else can touch ?
Nothing is signed yet.
But if this gets done, Japan has the fight of 2027 !!
🇯🇵 NAOYA INOUE (33-0, 27 KOs) vs JESSE "BAM" RODRIGUEZ (24-0, 17 KOs) 🇺🇸
🥊 Undisputed Super Bantamweight Championship (in negotiation)
📅 Early 2027 — Tokyo in March reported as the target
📺 TBA
Stay tuned !
Sources:
WBC (11 Nov 2026) — https://wbcboxing.com/en/wbc-mandatories-in-acapulco-decisions-across-all-18-divisions/
Yahoo Sports / Uncrowned, Darshan Desai (11 Nov 2026) — https://sports.yahoo.com/boxing/article/wbc-convention-updates-on-canelo-alvarezs-next-fight-naoya-inoue-david-benavidez-and-more-215615119.html
Fightnews, Bob Newman (11 Nov 2026) — https://fightnews.com/wbc-convention-day-3-mandatory-defenses-and-more/200179
The Ring, Mike Coppinger (24 Oct 2026) — https://www.wbceurasia.org/news/inoue-bam-work-to-finalize-deal-for-tokyo-showdown
Bad Left Hook (11 Nov 2026) — https://www.badlefthook.com/boxing-news/120291/the-good-the-bad-and-the-stupid-from-the-wbc-convention
Perhaps one of the unluckiest boxers in recent months is high octane performer Jino Rodrigo. The "Silent Beast" has been the victim of multiple fight cancelations, including an international challenge in Kazakhstan. But Borat's loss is Philippines' gain, and the big news breaking today is that GAB has approved the late inclusion of Rodrigo at BATTLEFIELD UKC TIGER 2O22.
Jino Rodrigo takes on a previous opponent in Kelvin Tenorio, a fighter who he edged a points victory over back in 2018. Tenorio managed to survive onslaughts from top prospects like Jose Roda Jr and Carlo Bacaro, so this should be a really good clash.
And Jino is a MADMAN !
You will never see the Silent Beast in a boring fight - this is a guy that always tries to put the judges out of a job !
If there is a Knockout to be had, Jino Rodrigo is the man to deliver it, because he carries the sleeping pills in both hands !
BATTLEFIELD UKC TIGER 2O22
Elorde Sports Centre Paranaque Manila Sunday October 23rd
Despite suffering narrow losses, Ben Ligas and Jules Victoriano produced next level performances in the belt fights in Vietnam last night.
Ligas faced the vastly experienced Uzbek, the much revered "mini Tyson " Olimjon Nazarov. This was quality boxing from both, with "the Sniper" bringing the cleaner punches, but perhaps lacking the aggression of Nazarov, who looked constantly keen for work. This was a hard match to score, as neither fighter was particularly dominant in a see sawing affair, and the body shot in the 11th where Ligas took a knee was perhaps the only real difference.
Dinh Hong Quan is physically indomitable, and with his height and reach, this improving Vietnam boxer is a task for anybody. It was anticipated that Jules Victoriano would give him his toughest test to date, and he definitely didn't disappoint !
This was a great fight, and is probably best viewed in two parts. Victoriano boxed beautifully in the early rounds, but despite landing nice shots, the Vietnam champ kept stealing rounds with some heavier and more direct landed shots. Quan also "appeared" more dominant, more frequently backing Victoriano up and putting him on to combos.
Going into the second half of the fight, Victoriano definitely lifted his output and accuracy, and even gave the Vietnam opponent a couple of "dig deep" moments !
This was an exciting and fantastic match up, that very easily could have been scored a draw, it was that evenly contested! There is no doubt that Dinh Hong Quan produced the best performance of his career last night, and this was really needed because of the beautiful boxing skills displayed by Jules Victoriano.
VSP would love to see these two great young fighters rematch at a later date, maybe on a bigger stage!
Post event, all smiles, and pictured are Coach Toto Laurente, Ben Ligas, VSP Vietnam boss Lim Song, and Jules Victoriano. Great job by all !
