Terence Crawford has weighed in with his view on the proposed Naoya Inoue vs Jesse Rodriguez showdown.
Pound-for-pound stars Inoue and Rodriguez have been linked to a fight over the past year, with that speculation only increasing after the pair both extended their respective unbeaten records recently.
Inoue retained his undisputed super-bantamweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Junto Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome in Japan in May, while ‘Bam’ won the WBA bantamweight title with a sixth round stoppage triumph against Antonio Vargas in Glendale, Arizona the following month.
Crawford is now the latest big name to have spoken out about the potential super-fight, as whilst talking to Ring Champs With Ak & Barak, he used Inoue’s clash with Nakatani to break down how a meeting with Rodriguez could unfold.
“It’s going to be tough [for Rodriguez]. [Inoue] does a lot of smart things in that ring, I just watched his last fight. If Nakatani didn’t get headbutted, that was a close fight. His eye got messed up, but Nakatani ain’t no joke. He showed what level he’s on in that fight.
“Bam is bigger [than Nakatani] but Nakatani is taller and longer, he was [throwing] punches in bunches, we’ve just got to see how the fight plays out.”
It seems as though the fight will have to happen sooner rather than later if it is to take place, after it was revealed that Inoue has set a deadline of March 2027 for the bout before he will turn his attention elsewhere.
