
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

























Bacolod's Genesis Servania will fight China's rising star Aketelieti Yelejian for the WBO Asia Lightweight title this November.
The highly-anticipated match up will take place on the undercard of the IBF world title fight between Pedro Taduran and Zhu DianXing at Jeju Island, South Korea.
Aketelieti Yelejian, who suffered a narrow loss to the Prince Albert Pagara in June, rebounded with an impressive IBF Asia victory against Korean Jin Su Kim in Vietnam recently. He is a very rangy and deceptive boxer known for his relaxed combinations, and he's supremely confident in his ability to take down Servania and claim the title.
"I've studied Servania's style, and I know I have the skills to outmaneuver him," Yelejian said yesterday.
"I'm excited to represent China on the international stage once more, and bring home an impressive win against a top and proven boxer like Genesis."
Servania, a seasoned veteran with a 35-4 record, boasts a reputation for toughness that has come from battles at the top level. And has still possesses some of the best body shots in the sport of boxing.
This important title shot gives the filipino the opportunity to re-establish himself on the world scene once more, and it's best remembered that his only defeats have came against world-ranked champions like Oscar Valdez and Andres Cortes.
But the China team have already confidently stated that Yelejian's youth, speed, height, and reach may all prove too much for the Filipino boxer.
Their optimism also exudes for the world title bout, where surprisingly, they are quite dismissive of Pedro Taduran's hopes of beating star Zhu DianXing. They actually rate their boxer so highly, they have predicted that the champion has no chance of retaining the belt.
These claims set up an intriguing backdrop for two massive Philippines v China feature bouts.
Fight Details :
- Date: Saturday, November 23rd
- Location: Jeju Island, South Korea
- Title: WBO Asia Lightweight
- Contenders: Aketelieti Yelejian (China) vs. Genesis Servania (Philippines)
























