Inoue reveals when superfight must take place.
Right now, Naoya Inoue is generally considered to be best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing today. An undefeated phenomenon who can box as well as he can punch, the 33-year-old has been champion in four different divisions and undisputed in two.
Having recently defeated fellow Japanese star Junto Nakatani in early May, Inoue officially earned his #1 spot on The Ring‘s list of ten best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, which only led fans to wonder what could possibly be next for him.
The Nakatani fight was Inoue’s 7th consecutive defence of his undisputed super-bantamweight championship, which represented what may have been his last showing in the division.
Despite his brilliance, many believe that Inoue’s ultimate test exists in the form of the featherweight class, the division just four pounds above where he is now.
A successful run at 126 pounds would really put Inoue up there amongst boxing’s very best of all time. However, plenty of people in the sport believe he should stick around at 122 pounds for one more fight.
That fight is a showdown with Jesse Rodríguez, the 26-year-old former flyweight and super-flyweight world champion who defeated Antonio Vargas in June to become the WBA bantamweight titleholder.
A fellow unbeaten multi-division titlist, Rodríguez has been linked to a fight with Inoue for a while. But now that the two are only a division apart, their potential meeting is more feasible than ever before.
However, Inoue has now reportedly stated that the Rodríguez fight must take place by March of 2027. If not, he will move up to campaign at featherweight.
Naoya Inoue has set a March 2027 deadline for a super fight against Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, Inoue’s agent told The Ring’s @MikeCoppinger. pic.twitter.com/X81zN4wFVd
— InsideRingShow (@InsideRingShow) August 3, 2026
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