TOKYO — Naoya Inoue has announced he will move up to the featherweight division rather than continue waiting for a super fight with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, ending months of speculation over a pound-for-pound showdown in early 2027. The undisputed junior featherweight champion, who defended his titles with victory over countryman Junto Nakatani in May, said on Tuesday he intends to begin preparations for 126lbs.
The announcement follows a protracted build-up. After Inoue’s May defence, Saudi boxing financier Turki Alalshikh pushed to stage Inoue against Rodriguez, with Inoue accepting the challenge amid reports Netflix were interested in broadcasting the contest in early 2027. Rodriguez then moved from 118lbs to bantamweight in June, stopping Antonio Vargas to claim the WBA title, a step that appeared to bring the two stars closer together. Rodriguez’s trainer and manager Robert Garcia subsequently said he wanted one more bout at 118lbs before facing Inoue, mooted against Christian Medina and linked to the Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury card initially targeted for Madison Square Garden in New York on 20 November before shifting to 11 December in Cardiff, Wales.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV on Sunday, 11 October, Garcia addressed Inoue’s impatience, saying: “We’ve heard that Inoue is not going to wait, at least reach out to us and let us know. If ‘Bam’ Rodriguez fights in December, let’s figure out April or May of [2027], we could do it and then he moves up.” Inoue responded on social media on Tuesday, writing in a post translated from Japanese: “I have no intention of sitting around waiting for Bam, so I'm going to start getting ready to move up to featherweight.” Rodriguez’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing replied swiftly, writing: “Who’s waiting? You said you are fighting in Feb/March? We are ready.”
Inoue’s decision to target featherweight puts the highly anticipated meeting with Rodriguez on hold and opens a new chapter at 126lbs for the Japanese star, while Rodriguez’s immediate path remains unclear following the rescheduling of the Joshua-Fury event. Any future clash would now require alignment across weight classes and broadcast plans that had pointed towards early 2027.