Boxing’s biggest pound-for-pound fight suddenly seems inevitable after plans emerged for Naoya Inoue and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez to collide in Japan for the Ring Magazine Custom Championship in 2027.

According to The Ring, Turki Alalshikh is targeting the Inoue vs. Rodriguez fight, which will take place in January in Japan, and organizers are already exploring the largest possible capacity of the facility, as well as planning a specially designed Ring championship belt.

The development immediately elevated what previously seemed like a fantasy matchmaking into something much more concrete.

With plans for a special ‘Fight of Britain’ title created for Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua in 2026, discussion of Ring Magazine’s custom belt for Inoue vs. Rodriguez strongly suggests that Turki already sees this bout as the next defining superfight event.

Inoue vs. Bam

If the fight goes forward, boxing’s number one pound-for-pound fighter will face current WBN fourth-ranked Jesse Rodriguez in what could become the highest-ranked pound-for-pound fight the sport has seen in recent memory.

For Rodriguez, the road to this point has accelerated quickly.

After a devastating run through multiple divisions, Rodriguez was well within range of pound-for-pound dominance.

At just 26 years elderly, Bam has already unified the flyweight division, won titles at super flyweight, and now stands on the verge of another shot at the bantamweight championship.

“Novel weight class, same goals – domination and winning all the belts,” Rodriguez announced before the upcoming fight with Antonio Vargas.

Now it seems that this ambition is drawing him directly towards Inoue.

A pound for pound clash

This fight would go far beyond the lower weight classes.

Inoue is already one of the most essential fighters of his era after becoming the undisputed champion in multiple divisions while headlining major events in Japan.

His recent victory over Junto Nakatani, who was also ranked in the top 10 in the WBN P4P rankings, sold over 650,000 pay-per-view viewers and generated over $32 million in gate receipts.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez continues to climb in the same direction with each performance.

WBN’s decade-long history of pound-for-pound kings includes names like Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward, Canelo Alvarez, Oleksandr Usyk, Terence Crawford and Inoue himself.

A fight between Inoue and Rodriguez would pit two lively elites fighting directly against each other on a level that boxing has rarely achieved in the up-to-date era.

For years, fans have talked about the Inoue vs. Rodriguez fight as the type of fantasy fight that boxing doesn’t typically provide. Suddenly, the machine behind him seems to be already moving.

The momentum of a super fight

Discussions about the event’s venue, a target January date and plans for a one-time title belt point to a fight that will go beyond mere speculation.

Nothing is decided yet.

But for the first time, boxing’s biggest pound-for-pound fight no longer seems like a far-fetched idea.

Now it looks like a fight the sport is actively trying to revitalize.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

The question remains whether the Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather exhibition will actually take place.

Late last year, it was announced that Tyson and Mayweather were scheduled to compete in an exhibition competition in early 2026, bringing together two of boxing’s biggest names.

Since that initial announcement, many twists and turns have led to confusion as to whether the fight will actually take place, even though the scheduled April date is already looming.

Mayweather has revealed he is ready for two other fights this year, the first a June event against kickboxer Mike Zambidis ahead of his planned professional rematch with former opponent Manny Pacquiao, and while there are also doubts about those fights, it increases the question of whether there is time for the Tyson fight.

However, Tyson now does not want to rule out that the fight will be canceled completely, saying Casino.org that while there are some things he can’t talk about, he still finds the possibility of meeting Mayweather “intriguing.”

“There’s not much I can talk about it, but it’s pretty intriguing. I’m just content that I’m in the state that I’m in and I’m able to do it to the extent that I can.”

Fans may take this vague information as a sign that behind the scenes the fight may not happen, especially considering the simultaneous drama with Pacquiao at the event, which Mayweather has questioned, claiming it is an exhibition fight and not a professional fight – something the Filipino team denies.

Tyson announced earlier this year that he had suffered a hand injury during training that could have played a part in delaying his fight with Mayweather, but with that now behind him, he has also reaffirmed his interest in competing against others.

“I don’t know when [I’ll stop fighting]. The only time I think about it is when someone brings me a check. I think about many people (I want to fight).”

Tyson’s last fight was in November 2024 in a controversial fight with Jake Paul. “The Problem Child” secured a comfortable points win, but “Iron Mike” looked like a shadow of his former ruthless self, so many fans might want to see him retire for good.

“I want him to do interviews and I want them to do well, but he doesn’t like doing it,” Warren said Boxing TalkSport. “He just doesn’t like the press.”

Warren said Dubois has never been comfortable with media responsibilities and prefers to focus solely on fights.

“I think the whole media thing is that he just finds it unattractive to him,” Warren said. “I just want to get in the ring and punch someone.”

The Hall of Fame promoter pointed to Dubois’ reaction after knocking out Anthony Joshua last year as another example of his approach to publicity.

“When he knocked out AJ, we couldn’t take him to the press conference,” Warren said. “He wanted to go home.”

Warren added that Dubois has shown more personality in recent roundtable appearances, especially ahead of the Joshua and Filip Hrgovic fights.

“The one he did with AJ, they were pretty verbally aggressive,” Warren said. – I’ve never heard him swear before.

Despite the interest that Dubois’ interviews have received, Warren doesn’t believe promoting Saturday’s fight requires additional theatrics.

“The fight needs no publicity,” Warren said. “It is what it is.”

This Saturday, Dubois challenges Wardley for the WBO heavyweight title in an all-British heavyweight fight that Warren described as one of the biggest boxer-versus-puncher fights in the division in years.