Minor league legend Nonito Donaire gave his take on a potential matchup between Naoya Inoue and Jesse Rodriguez, believing one man has the skills to win.

Earlier this month, Inoue successfully defended his undisputed super bantamweight crown for the seventh time, defeating three-time world champion Junto Nakatani by unanimous decision.

Their all-Japanese encounter was somewhat restrained until Nakatani picked up the pace between rounds eight and ten, when “The Monster” suddenly began to worry.

However, in response, Inoue managed to retain his four major titles and finish forceful in the competition, maintaining his status as a top star in the two-pound-for-pound division.

Apart from the 33-year-old, many consider Rodriguez to be one of the sport’s flagship operators, especially after his consecutive stoppages against Phumelela Cafu and Fernando Martinez.

These two victories unified the super flyweight division last year, but now “Bam” is fighting for a three-weight world title against Antonio Vargas.

The fight for Vargas’ WBA bantamweight title will take place on June 13and Rodriguez would complete that assignment before moving up to 122 pounds.

The question should therefore be when, not if, the 26-year-old will collide with Inoue, who represents a naturally larger and more experienced player.

But despite these advantages, Donaire said Ring that he believes Rodriguez has the skills to beat Inoue, who outpaced and stopped the Filipino in 2019 and 2022, respectively.

“In terms of technical skills and the way Bam fights, he is definitely at the top and can beat Inoue.

“Bam has all the skills, but being a smaller guy is going to be a huge disadvantage to his style. The question is: Is Bam huge enough to apply his dominance and his style? Because if you’re a smaller guy, it’s very tough to do everything he does.

“But in terms of skill and ability, I think he will beat both Inoue and Nakatani if ​​they mix them up. He has the ability to do that.”

According to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, preliminary talks about a fight between Inoue and “Bam” have already taken place and the pair are expected to perform at the Tokyo Dome early next year.

Author: Sean Crose

We were told that he might be the greatest fighter of all time, that he had such talent, that he participated in such pioneering training, that he had such an extraordinary amateur pedigree that resistance was essentially futile. Make no mistake, Vasyl Lomachenko was sold as a star before he even set foot in the professional ring. And while it’s true that this man quickly became a star, the claim that he could actually be the greatest of all time seems more than a little hyperbolic these days. However, the man will be back soon, likely against Gervonta Davis (we’ll have to see if that comes to fruition), so maybe at 38, the once prodigy will live up to his sky-high expectations after all. You never really know.

While he may not have yet lived up to the idiotically unfair expectations placed on him, there is no doubt that the man named Loma has had an absolutely stellar career. He won the world title in his third professional fight. He went on to win thirteen times in a row against the likes of Nicholas Walters, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Jorge Linares, all of whom were world-class fighters.

The biggest obstacle in Loma’s path was Teofimo Lopez. He was a large, hard-hitting and extremely confident Up-to-date Yorker who defeated Loma in the fall of 2020 in an extremely competitive 12-round fight. Loma was the lightweight champion entering the ring that night. He moved up from featherweight to 135 and may have tried to cross the bridge too far when he agreed to fight the hungry Lopez. Loma defeated his next three opponents, but in the spring of 2023 he hit another bump in the road to a fight with Devin Haney.

The battle was fierce – extremely fierce – although when all was said and done, Haney decided to win. The following spring he fought Georges Kambosos, after which he practically disappeared from the ring. Last fall, the man decided it was time to call it a career. Seeing clearly that retirement was not for him, he decided to announce his return to fighting earlier this week. In addition to Davis, there is Shakur Stevenson who he can probably face. A rematch with Haney could prove to be another real possibility.

One thing is almost certain – Loma will not be an effortless task for anyone. He may have been overrated, but he was a damn good boxer back then. Chances are this man is still an excellent fighter. He may have lost three fights in his career, but they were close fights against excellent opponents. Potential opponents overlook Loma at their peril. The fact that the man did not suffer major injuries in the ring should also be a warning against possible fouls in the ring. He may not be a child anymore, but he’s not afraid of fighting either.

No matter who he faces – he’s made it clear he wants it to be a top-tier opponent – it will be fascinating to see Loma in the ring again. After all, a guy makes an impression when he plies his trade. Just watching one or two of this guy’s fights on YouTube allows the viewer to see the champion at work. It is characterized by speed, angles and accuracy. While he likely won’t be fighting at lightweight, where he has performed best, Loma is still a tough opponent. Once it starts working, it’s firm to stop it. At least that’s how it used to be. Whether this will be the case again remains to be seen.

Frank Warren says the Daniel Dubois-Fabio Wardley rematch is set to take place in the fall, and Queensberry is already discussing the possibility of moving the fight to a stadium after their success in the first fight.

Wardley activated his rematch clause just days after losing the WBO heavyweight title to Dubois in a hard-fought fight that many fans saw as an early Fight of the Year contender.

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Last updated: 19/05/2026 at 12:04