Boxing

Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez teases next fight plans, and they do not involve Naoya Inoue

DAZN

28, Oct

Benavidez vs Yarde live on DAZN PPV - Nov 22

Unified super flyweight champion Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez has his sights set on becoming an undisputed champion at 115lbs.

The American will look to take another step towards that goal on November 22 when he attempts to unify his WBC and WBO world titles with the WBA belt currently held by Argentina's Fernando Daniel Martinez.

The pair will clash exclusively live on DAZN PPV on a stacked Ring IV card which will be headlined by the WBC light heavyweight title clash between David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde in Riyadh.

Rodriguez is quickly cementing himself as one of this generation's best pound-for-pound talents, but while he is tearing up the super flyweight division, fans are eager to see him face Japanese superstars Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani sooner rather than later.

Appearing on Inside The Ring, Rodriguez explained why being an undisputed champion is a greater incentive at this current moment in time compared to facing the likes of Inoue.

"I would like to go undisputed at 115. If I do get past Martinez, there is only one belt left," Rodriguez said.

"That’s as close as I’ve ever been to undisputed, so I would love to go out there and get that last belt."

While Rodriguez remains confident that he can secure a date with Inoue and Nakatani, there are concerns as to whether this will become a reality with the two Japanese fighters frequently moving up in weight.

Before Nakatani decided to move up to super bantamweight, Rodriguez revealed that talks were underway for the two to meet ahead of facing Martinez before reiterating his desire to take on 'Big Bang' and the 'Monster'.

"My next fight was supposed to be Nakatani; things were already in the works, so that just goes to show I’m willing to whoever, whenever, but things didn’t go that way, so here I am fighting Martinez.

"Those are two fights I definitely want to get in my career."

Nakatani and Inoue are also set to fight in the Saudi Arabian capital in the 'Night of the Samurai' event, where they will face Alan Picasso and Sebastian Hernandez, respectively.

The two bouts will take place on December 27, live on DAZN, and it's expected that if Nakatani and Inoue get past their opponents, it will set up an all-Japanese showdown at some point in 2026.