Turki Alalshikh wants Inoue to fight pound-for-pound foe in his next fight.
On Saturday, Naoya Inoue defeated Junto Nakatani by 12-round unanimous decision in front of 55,000 people at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
In doing so, he undoubtedly proved he is the best Japanese fighter in the world (and maybe to ever live), defended his undisputed 122-pound crown for the 7th time in a row, and enhanced his case for being perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter currently boxing.
Beating Nakatani meant that Inoue inflicted the first loss in the career of his countryman who was also ranked as one of the ten best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, leading everyone to ask, “What’s next?”
Currently, there are two main routes for Inoue to logically go down, and both would potentially strengthen a legacy that is already guaranteed a safe and secure placement in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Having dealt with practically all that super-bantamweight has to offer, a run at featherweight would be the ultimate test of Inoue’s greatness. If he were to beat every 126-pound titleholder, he would be spoken of as one of the very, very best to ever set foot in a boxing ring.
Alternatively, Inoue could stay at his current poundage and defend his belts against Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodríguez, yet another undefeated talent on the pound-for-pound list.
It is this latter option that Turki Alalshikh seems to want the most, as he has revealed plans to stage Inoue vs. Rodríguez in January of 2027 on a card in Japan.
Rodríguez (a two-weight world champion himself) is currently scheduled to make his bantamweight debut against WBA champion Antonio Vargas, meaning another jump in weights would be required to face Inoue.
The largest possible attendance would be sought for the fight, and a special belt designed especially for the contest by The Ring would also be on the line.
Both Inoue and Rodríguez have already proven themselves to be extraordinarily special fighters, but if they were to meet to decide who is the most special between them, it would be a day that the entire boxing world would stand to attention.
🚨 Turki Alalshikh is planning to make Naoya Inoue vs ‘Bam’ Rodriguez for The Ring’s junior featherweight title in January in Japan, The Ring’s @MikeCoppinger has learned.
The biggest attendance capacity possible is being aimed for with no venue decided yet. A special Ring belt… pic.twitter.com/jUzhTpTCW9
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) May 3, 2026
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