Terence Crawford has delivered his verdict on a potential Naoya Inoue next fight against Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, warning it would be “tough” for the smaller man while insisting Inoue “showed what level he’s on” in his most recent outing.
Inoue and Rodriguez have been linked for the past year, and the talk has only grown louder as both extended their unbeaten records. Inoue retained his undisputed super-bantamweight crown with a hard-fought decision over Junto Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome in May, while Rodriguez captured the WBA bantamweight title with a sixth-round stoppage of Antonio Vargas in Glendale, Arizona the following month. As Bam Rodriguez’s route to Inoue shows, the pieces are edging into place.
What Crawford said about the Naoya Inoue super-fight
Speaking to Ring Champs With Ak & Barak, Crawford leaned on Inoue’s war with Nakatani to explain why he rates ‘The Monster’ so highly, in comments first carried by Boxing News Online.
It’s going to be tough [for Rodriguez]. [Inoue] does a lot of smart things in that ring, I just watched his last fight. If Nakatani didn’t get headbutted, that was a close fight. His eye got messed up, but Nakatani ain’t no joke. He showed what level he’s on in that fight.
“Bam is bigger [than Nakatani] but Nakatani is taller and longer, he was [throwing] punches in bunches, we’ve just got to see how the fight plays out,” Crawford added.
The clock may be ticking. Inoue has reportedly set a deadline of March 2027 for the bout before he turns his attention elsewhere — meaning boxing’s next great pound-for-pound puzzle will have to be solved soon, or not at all.
