Super fight between Naoya Inoue and Bam Rodriguez ‘being planned’ for Jan. 2027
High-level boxing is coming in 2027. Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue is fresh off another massive moment, defeating Junto Nakatani via unanimous decision this past weekend (Sat. , May 2, 2026) inside the Tokyo Dome in what was billed as the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history.
With the win, “The Monster” retained his WBA (Super), WBC, […]
Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue, the current unified WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO world superbantamweight champion, attends a press conference ahead of his May 2 boxing match with Junto Nakatani, in Tokyo on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images High-level boxing is coming in 2027. Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue is fresh off another massive moment, defeating Junto Nakatani via unanimous decision this past weekend (Sat.
, May 2, 2026) inside the Tokyo Dome in what was billed as the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. With the win, “The Monster” retained his WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super Bantamweight titles ( watch highlights ). Now, attention immediately shifts to what’s next — and it could be a mega fight.
According to Yahoo! Japan and confirmed by The Ring , a showdown between Inoue (33-0) and rising Mexican-American star Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (23-0) is being targeted for January 2027 in Japan as part of Riyadh Season, spearheaded by boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh . If finalized, the bout would take place in a massive stadium setting, with plans to break Japan’s all-time attendance record.