
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






































December 24, 2024
Dear Partners,
I would like to take this moment to first wish you and your family a safe and blessed holiday season.
This annual report serves as a benchmark for our progress and a commitment to transparency in our operations. In 2024, a notable decline occurred in the number of professional boxing events held domestically. This downturn was primarily attributed to the cessation of grassroots events by VSP Promotions, a key promoter that played a crucial role in introducing new talent to the domestic professional boxing scene.
The challenges faced in organizing professional boxing events in Vietnam intensified in 2024 compared to the previous year, a reflection of the current market conditions. We anticipate this trend to persist in 2025 due to the continued existence of an unsupportive environment for event organizers, fostered by the local amateur boxing federation.
VBO organized the gathering of 10 commissions in Asia in 8/2024. It is our view that Asia has a fundamental challenge in how boxing is managed and supervised. Standardization and coherent cooperation models that have actionable and measurable outcomes will need to be developed in order to create more regional opportunities for the industry participants.
DOMESTIC REPORT 2024
INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2024
The VBO remains dedicated to securing international fight opportunities for Vietnamese boxers within safe environments. While the organization provides recommendations, the final decision to accept a fight rests solely with the boxers and their coaching teams.
OFFICIALS OF VBO REPORT 2024
VBO collects detailed performance data of each official in their assigned roles at every event. We compile these data for use towards training requirements to further improve their performance.
We hope that 2025 will bring more opportunities for the boxers between partnering countries and jointly continue to improve the quality of our officials. Have a wonderful holiday season! See you all in 2025.
Sincerely,
Lim Song
President of Vietnam Boxing Organization










