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Bam Rodriguez may face Takuma Inoue before Naoya: ‘The perfect storyline’

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez will look to become a three-division world champion this Saturday against Antonio Vargas, who holds the WBA bantamweight title.

But much of the talk around Bam is not about that fight, it’s about what could come next, and that’s Naoya Inoue, the undisputed champion and a man some believe to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing today.

And while promoter Eddie Hearn says that fight should be made next — of course, provided Bam beats Vargas, as he’s expected to do — there may be other plans.

Trainer Robert Garcia has suggested Rodriguez could face Naoya’s brother, Takuma Inoue, who holds the WBC bantamweight title, as a way to build even more anticipation for Naoya vs Bam.

Rodriguez seems to like the idea, too, as he discussed the possible plan with Manouk Akopyan of The Ring.

“I think that’s, like, almost the perfect storyline, beating his brother and then going in and fighting the second brother,” Bam said, while stressing that his mind is, for now, only on Antonio Vargas.

“I just need to stay focused on this fight, man. It’s a tough fight that I have in front of me. I know I can get the job done. I will get the job done. After that, we can talk about the future.”

Takuma (22-2, 5 KO) would mainly be “storyline” advancement, and not particularly great preparation to face Naoya — then again, it can be argued that nobody is particularly great preparation to face Naoya. The Inoue brothers both lean on strong fundamentals and technique, don’t make a lot of mistakes, but Naoya is a much harder puncher, faster, and has better athletic gifts. Simply put, he’s a much better fighter, and Takuma is a pretty damn good fighter himself.

Rodriguez also says he may be willing to entertain a fight with Junto Nakatani, who gave Naoya some strong competition in a terrific fight in early May, and will be ready to fight “whomever, whenever.”

The Naoya Inoue fight, though, really is what most people want to talk about, and Bam gets why.

“I know when that (Naoya) Inoue fight does happen, the fans are in for a great night of boxing,” he said. “People are already talking about that fight so much that it’s inevitable at this point. When the time comes, it’s gonna be a great fight, probably one of the best fights in boxing history.”

Bad Left Hook will have live results and reactions for Bam Rodriguez vs Antonio Vargas on Saturday, June 13, 2026, starting at 7 pm ET.

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