Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is one of the nicer fighters you’ll come across in boxing. But while he takes time to stop for autographs and pictures and rarely says no to interviews, there are times he gets annoyed.
The constant mention of Naoya Inoue as a potential opponent can be put down as one of those times.
The Japanese star doesn’t bother Rodriguez personally, but the perpetual attachment between their names, along with the constant questions about a potential fight, irritates him. Still, Rodriguez knows that’s how the game works. He and Inoue campaign close enough in weight to make fans wonder one thing.
Who would win if they fought?
Although he isn’t the biggest fan of those repetitive questions, he believes everyone will finally get their answer relatively soon.
“Another year or two I believe,” Rodriguez told FightHype.com.
Rodriguez’s plan will only come to fruition if certain things fall into place. For starters, he has to take care of business on July 19 against fellow super flyweight champion Phumelele Cafu. If that goes his way, Inoue would have to remain at 122 pounds a little longer.
This is where things become tricky. After recently defending his undisputed throne against Ramon Cardenas, Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs) began entertaining moving up to the featherweight division.
In addition to the weight discrepancy, the fight location could be an issue. Inoue’s recent outing took place in Las Vegas, but the overwhelming majority of his fights have been held in Japan.
For some, traveling to a great fighter’s backyard is troublesome. Fears of getting a fair shake and an even playing field are obvious worries. With that said, however, Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) doesn’t mind giving Inoue the home-court advantage. He comes across as a fighter who is more than willing to go halfway across the world for this showdown.
“In Japan would be pretty cool,” Rodriguez said. “I’m a huge fan of Japan, so to go out there and fight in front of those fans would be cool.”
AloJapan.com