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The story
Naoya Inoue (33), the four-belt unified super bantamweight world champion, and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (26), the WBA super bantamweight champion, are in smooth negotiations toward a bout targeted for March next year, promoter Hideyuki Ohashi revealed on the 28th. If it happens, it would pit the No. 1 and No. 4 fighters in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings against each other, marking what would be Inoue’s eighth simultaneous defense of all four world titles. On 5ch, the discussion focused less on the contract terms themselves and more on how strong Bam actually is, the confusing nuance of the “super champion” title, and where Inoue might move up in weight next.
Hideyuki Ohashi (61), head of the Ohashi Boxing Gym, revealed on the 28th that negotiations are progressing smoothly to make a super-fight happen next March between Naoya Inoue (33, Ohashi), the four-belt unified super bantamweight world champion, and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (26, USA), the WBA super bantamweight champion.
Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, he said, “Inoue’s negotiations are moving forward step by step.” According to the U.S. outlet Boxing Scene, Robert Garcia (51, USA), the former IBF world super featherweight champion who has long served as Rodriguez’s trainer and manager, reportedly demanded that the contract for the March bout be sent over, saying things like “send over that damn contract already.” Ohashi responded with a wry laugh: “That’s not something I’d be handling. No, that’s not how it works — so he clearly doesn’t know anything. This is being discussed at the promoter level. There’s no discussion happening with the trainer.”
The super-fight between Inoue, ranked No. 1, and Rodriguez, ranked No. 4, in The Ring magazine’s men’s pound-for-pound rankings of the best boxers across all weight classes, is expected to take place next March at the Tokyo Dome, as Inoue’s eighth simultaneous defense of his four world titles.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
More importantly, there are way too many champions.
What the heck is a "super champion" anyway…?
At this rate they'll have a "Great Ultra Super Champion" next.
Makes no sense.
That's just you saying that on your own, isn't it?
If you're not interested, don't open the thread and don't post in it.
If he moves up a weight class he'll just be a guy who can take a punch with nothing else going for him.
His most high-profile fight was against Ricardo Lopez, where he got absolutely beaten up and couldn't land a thing, so that's the impression that sticks.
Enough already.
Just hurry up and go to featherweight.
Kind of sad.
It's debatable with Carrington, but he's riskier than Figueroa or Leo.
There's even talk in America of Bam being favored, so if Inoue skips Bam, moves up to featherweight, and beats someone like Angelo Leo to become featherweight champ, people in the U.S. will just say "he ran away to featherweight where there's nobody as strong as Bam."
Better to beat Bam first, then move up to featherweight.
He can probably see himself losing his first featherweight fight and retiring, so maybe this is just some pocket money before that.
Just like Inoue did, Bam will probably hit a wall at super bantamweight.
Nah, I can't picture Inoue losing to someone like Angelo Leo.
Bam is definitely the tougher fight.
Bam → if he wins, featherweight → then retirement or a last match.
Something like that, probably.
He'll probably at least go for a four-belt unification at featherweight too, won't he?
Bigger guys being stronger is just a fact, though.
Why do you think boxing has weight classes in the first place?
No no, "bigger guys are stronger" is correct, right?
Even Inoue wouldn't stand a chance against some no-name heavyweight.
I get that lighter weight classes exist because it's a sport with categories, but the fact remains: the overwhelming majority of the strongest fighters are in the middleweight and heavyweight divisions.
"If you want to fight me, drop down a weight class."
That line was so cool.
If you want the big money, it's only right that the opponent adjusts to Inoue, not the other way around.
He himself used to brag that he got to watch the Ricardo Lopez fight from the front row.
That's actually pretty funny.
NOW that's a monster.
203cm Hachimura: "(⌒,_ゝ⌒) Pfft, lol"
If it's just about being tall, there are tons of guys like that in basketball, lol
A sport where even a "koropokkuru" (a tiny folklore dwarf — i.e. a really short guy) is allowed to thrive.
That's boxing for you.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
The confusion over the “super champion” title that came up in the thread stems from the WBA’s own rule system, which allows a “super champion” and a “regular champion” to coexist within the same weight class. Under this system, when a fighter who has unified all four major belts doesn’t move up to the next weight class, the WBA doesn’t strip the title — instead it crowns a separate “regular champion.” That’s why a fighter like Inoue holds the title of “four-belt unified champion” while also carrying the “super champion” label. It looks complicated if you don’t know the system, but this kind of setup is actually pretty common in the boxing world.
Another point of discussion was the size of the gap between weight classes. Even though the weight difference between bantamweight and super bantamweight is only a few kilograms, in professional boxing the gap in technique and power is said to matter more than the number on the scale — and several thread posts predicted Bam would “hit a wall” moving up.
Meanwhile, the observation that a fair number of people in the U.S. favor Bam reflects the reality that Inoue’s ability still tends to be underrated overseas. Details of the bout — such as whether it will be held at the Tokyo Dome and how it counts toward his title defenses — remain unconfirmed at this stage, pending a formal contract.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisokuhō+) thread “[Boxing] Inoue vs. Bam super-fight negotiations progressing smoothly toward March next year — Chairman Hideyuki Ohashi: “Negotiations are moving forward step by step”.”
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