Inoue-Rodriguez fight set to happen, says trainer Robert Garcia
Robert Garcia says Naoya Inoue and Jesse Rodriguez can meet in March if Rodriguez first completes a bantamweight title unification.
Naoya Inoue and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez are expected to meet, with Rodriguez’s trainer Robert Garcia outlining a possible route to the fight. Garcia wants Rodriguez to make one more appearance at bantamweight before targeting a March meeting with the Japanese champion.
The proposed interim bout is a unification against WBO bantamweight titleholder Christian Medina. Garcia believes that contest would provide a stronger examination for Rodriguez, who has competed only once at 118 pounds since moving up to the division.
Rodriguez made his bantamweight debut against Vargas and won the WBA title. Garcia has therefore asked for a further fight at the weight, ideally against Medina in late October or November. That schedule would leave enough preparation time for a possible contest with Inoue in March.
The timing is important because Inoue is weighing a move to featherweight. Garcia said Inoue does not want to wait beyond March for the proposed bout and could move up to 126 pounds if an agreement is not reached by then.
Inoue currently holds all four major world titles at super-bantamweight and recently retained them for the seventh time by defeating Junto Nakatani in May. That victory was regarded as the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history, adding further interest to a meeting with Rodriguez.
Rodriguez moved up from super-flyweight to bantamweight to get closer to Inoue and claimed the WBA belt in his first fight at 118 pounds. The two fighters are separated by four pounds in their current divisions, while Garcia considers Rodriguez’s ability and skill sufficient for the eventual challenge but wants the Medina bout before committing to it.
A Rodriguez-Medina fight has been discussed for the supporting slot on either Canelo Alvarez’s contest with Christian Mbilli on October 31 or the heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, which has been targeted for November 20. Those possible dates could determine whether Rodriguez receives the test Garcia wants before negotiations with Inoue advance.
Source: Boxing News (boxingnewsonline.net)
