Naoya Inoue not waiting on Bam before moving to 126; makes February 2027 deadline

JunlongXiFan · Aug 19, 2026

I'd like to see it happen. It's not the best fight ever imo, but Inoue would definitely get a lot of credit for winning it.

Flo_Raiden · Aug 20, 2026

This content is protected

This content is protected

Flo_Raiden · Sep 6, 2026

Inoue is literally begging Bam to take this fight.

This content is protected

This content is protected

PusherII · Sep 6, 2026

Bam don’t want that smoke.

Rumsfeld · Sep 6, 2026

Flo_Raiden said: ↑

Inoue is literally begging Bam to take this fight.

This content is protected

This content is protected

Click to expand...

BAM ain't ready for 122, nor is he even properly situated at 118.

roughdiamond · Sep 7, 2026

I want to see this happen but I'm surprised by the debate. Stylistically I think this clearly favours Inoue who will just punch through Bam, who has nothing Inoue hasn't already seen before. Bam's best bet is to age Inoue out as much as possible.

Personal I think Inoue slices him up like Zaitochi.

Barrf · Sep 7, 2026

roughdiamond said: ↑

I want to see this happen but I'm surprised by the debate. Stylistically I think this clearly favours Inoue who will just punch through Bam, who has nothing Inoue hasn't already seen before. Bam's best bet is to age Inoue out as much as possible.

Personal I think Inoue slices him up like Zaitochi.
Click to expand...

I think the matchup clearly favors Inoue right now, but to say Bam doesn't have anything that Inoue hasn't seen is odd. His entire style is a complete one-off, and I think he's better at reading openings and timing opponents than anybody Inoue has faced.

The big issue for Bam is that his defense is pretty mediocre until he gets warmed up. By mid-rounds, his defense is elite, but at the start of fights? He just eats punches he should never have been hit by. He gets away with it because he's got a good chin, but Inoue hits far too hard to be able to get away with it. As he moves up, this issue is going to become more of a liability. His offense? Fantastic, ATG level. But he's going to end up ironed out in a fight he should've won if he doesn't fix that early defense.

Barrf · Sep 7, 2026

PusherII said: ↑

Bam don’t want that smoke.
Click to expand...

Bam's team doesn't want the smoke. Bam himself does, but he's smart enough to listen to his team.

Serge · Sep 7, 2026

Bam-Rod is only interested in facing opponents who are closer to death than birth

He stands on the sidelines of the battlefield until the battle is over and then draws his sword and stands over the corpses of fallen warriors with his arms aloft

He drinks the blood of the dead, Inoue is going to drown him in it

Flo_Raiden · Sep 8, 2026

Inoue's recent interview with Ring Magazine.

An exclusive interview between The Ring and Naoya Inoue, the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, has come to fruition.

On August 19, “The Monster” appeared at Korakuen Hall, widely regarded as the mecca of Japanese boxing. Since defeating Junto Nakatani by decision at the Tokyo Dome on May 2, Inoue has yet to officially announce his next fight. Perhaps because of that, the 32-year-old looked relaxed as he sat down with The Ring and spoke at length about his past, present and future.

Your next fight has not been officially announced yet. Do you feel like, mentally, you're finally getting a chance to take a real break after a long time?

Yeah, I think the mental side of it is probably the biggest thing. There have been times when I've taken this much time off before. But when I have a fight already lined up, even if I'm taking time off, it's always somewhere in the back of my mind. I'm always thinking about the next fight to some degree. Right now, I don't have that at all, so it's a completely different feeling.”

You fought four times last year, but only once this year. Was this a break that you needed, both physically and mentally?

“I think this is another important period for me. If I really wanted to, I could fight in October or November. But I've been looking at the fight at the Tokyo Dome against Nakatani, which had been planned for two years. So I feel like this is an important time for me to take a little bit of a mental break as well.”

It's hard to avoid talking about the potential megafight with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. He seems like a fighter you'd like to face, and certainly someone you're willing to fight, but at the same time, it doesn't seem like you have this feeling that he's a fight you absolutely have to make.

“If you look at my career, other than the four title challenges I've had during my four-division championship run, if you ask me whether there were fights that I absolutely had to make, I'd say, ‘Well, I don't know.’ So the Bam fight isn't a fight that I absolutely have to make, either. That being said, if I'm going to make the most of the time I have left at super bantamweight, I think Bam is really the only choice.”

You also said before the Nakatani fight that it wasn't an absolutely necessary fight for you, and that if it couldn't happen in May of this year, you would move on. Is your thinking about the Bam fight in February or March of next year similar?

“My stance is pretty much the same. And if the Bam fight doesn't happen, I'm also thinking about moving up to featherweight. I don't want to spend the last two or three years of my career simply playing it safe. I want to move up another division and continue challenging myself.”

Have you watched Bam's recent fights? What did you make of his first fight at bantamweight, against Antonio Vargas on June 13?

“I watched it. I watched the full fight, not just the highlights. I did get the impression that, physically, things weren't quite the same for him as they had been before. But he still managed to finish the fight with a knockout. His strength isn't really about physical power. He has the ability to punch through you with pinpoint accuracy. For example, even if I were fighting at super featherweight or lightweight, I think I'd still be able to hurt an opponent with a punch they didn't see coming. I think it's the same with Bam. If he had tried to rely on physical strength in that fight, I don't think he would have produced that kind of knockout. I saw that ability in him to land punches from blind spots and take advantage of openings in his opponent.”

Is that the key to being able to score knockouts as you move up in weight?

“Yeah, I think that's the key to being able to stop people as you move up in weight. I've moved up from light flyweight myself, so physically, I don't think Bam and I are actually that different. If we fight, I think it would be a very interesting fight.”

You've said before that the Bam fight would be fun for you, as well as for the fans watching it. Do you still feel that way?

“Absolutely. Ever since people started talking about this fight, there have been a lot of people saying that I'd have a huge advantage against Bam, that the difference between the weight classes and our physical size would be too much. But personally, I don't think the gap is that big.”

You mentioned moving up to featherweight if the Bam fight doesn't come together. Is making super bantamweight becoming more difficult for you, or is it still your natural weight class?

“Making weight isn't difficult for me. Super bantamweight is still my natural weight class.”

So you don't necessarily need to move up, but moving to featherweight would be a new challenge for you?

“Exactly. I'm thinking about moving up because there aren't any opponents left in this division who really get me fired up. And if I move up for that reason, I think featherweight will probably be the final division of my career.”

Featherweight will be your final division?

“I think so. Yeah.”

The current world champions at featherweight are Rafael Espinoza, Bruce Carrington, Angelo Leo and Brandon Figueroa. If you think about the opponents who would make for interesting fights, who comes to mind?

“I think any of them would make for an interesting fight. But Espinoza and Figueroa have particularly unique styles and sense of distance, so I think those would be fights that are difficult to predict. Leo and Carrington are more traditional in terms of their styles. But that's just talking about their styles.”

Espinoza and Figueroa seem to throw punches from some unusual angles and with unusual rhythms, right?

“Yeah. And sometimes those kinds of things can actually work perfectly for me, so it's hard to say exactly how it would play out.”

How many fights would you like to have next year?

“I'd like to fight about twice.”

Not long ago, you said that if you divided your career into the first half, middle and second half, you were already in the latter part of your career. Do you feel like you're now in the latter part of the latter part?

“Yeah, I'd say I'm already in the latter part of the latter part. When I look back at my career since I turned pro, I think I'm definitely at that stage now.”

You've just come off a huge event against Nakatani, and now the Bam fight is on the horizon. Do you have any other goals that you can see clearly at this point? Your father and trainer, Shingo, has said that his goal is to see you retire undefeated.

“Part of me does want to finish my career undefeated. But if I become too attached to that, I feel like I might move away from what it means to challenge myself. So while I'd like to keep that goal in mind, I also want to show people, through the way I live out the final part of my career, that I'm willing to keep challenging myself all the way to the end.”

When you're choosing your opponents from here on, how important is their status compared with the potential for an entertaining fight?

“I think it will probably be both. The kind of opponent who can give me an interesting fight is probably going to have the kind of status that matches this level, too. From this point on, I don't think I'll be fighting someone who has only one of those two qualities.”

You still have that desire to challenge yourself?

“I do. Ideally, I'd like to get through the Bam fight first, graduate from super bantamweight, and then move into the final chapter of my career at featherweight. That's the path I'd like to take. I want to keep challenging myself all the way through.”

Click to expand...

bandeedo · Sep 8, 2026

Flo_Raiden said: ↑

Inoue's recent interview with Ring Magazine.
Click to expand...

i love monster. just how he thinks and carries himself. type of guy real men respect because he is a look you in the eye, firm handshake, no guile, tell it like it is type of guy. a mans man.

GoodBot · Sep 8, 2026

Rumsfeld said: ↑

BAM ain't ready for 122, nor is he even properly situated at 118.
Click to expand...

Rodriguez is a big dude, he rehydrated to 130 back when he was fighting at 112.

MagnificentMatt · Sep 8, 2026

bandeedo said: ↑

i love monster. just how he thinks and carries himself. type of guy real men respect because he is a look you in the eye, firm handshake, no guile, tell it like it is type of guy. a mans man.
Click to expand...

Well said, such a likable and respectable man, and seems like a true role model. Usyk is this way as well, despite his more light hearted and playful personality, he comes off as a genuinely good person with surprising humility for his achievements. I often think how cool it would be to have a pound for pound ranked American or Western fighter with the type of attitude these guys have……

Log in or Sign up

Naoya Inoue not waiting on Bam before moving to 126; makes February 2027 deadline

JunlongXiFan Boxing Addict Full Member

Flo_Raiden Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

Flo_Raiden Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

PusherII ♚ Full Member

Rumsfeld Moderator Staff Member

roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

Barrf Boxing Addict Full Member

Barrf Boxing Addict Full Member

Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

Flo_Raiden Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

bandeedo Loyal Member Full Member

GoodBot You can like, just forget your password. Full Member

MagnificentMatt Beterbiev literally kills Plant and McCumby 2v1 Full Member

Log in or Sign up

Forums

Naoya Inoue not waiting on Bam before moving to 126; makes February 2027 deadline

JunlongXiFan Boxing Addict Full Member

Flo_Raiden Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

Flo_Raiden Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

PusherII ♚ Full Member

Rumsfeld Moderator Staff Member

roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

Barrf Boxing Addict Full Member

Barrf Boxing Addict Full Member

Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

Flo_Raiden Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

bandeedo Loyal Member Full Member

GoodBot You can like, just forget your password. Full Member

MagnificentMatt Beterbiev literally kills Plant and McCumby 2v1 Full Member