Bam Rodriguez Lands Naoya Inoue Fight Next, Says Eddie Hearn

“If Bam wins, he will fight Inoue in my opinion,” Hearn told the media.

The fight has been discussed for months as one of the sport’s most attractive pound-for-pound matchups. Rodriguez moves up to bantamweight to challenge Vargas for the WBA title, while Inoue continues his run at super bantamweight as one of boxing’s most dominant champions.

Hearn made it clear that Vargas remains the immediate focus and does not view the champion as an easy assignment.

“The move to bantamweight sets up a perfect fight. We keep talking about what’s next. He has to get by Antonio Vargas, the champion, on June 13,” Hearn said.

Rodriguez established himself as one of boxing’s elite bantamweight fighters with wins over Juan Francisco Estrada, Sunny Edwards and Pedro Guevara. A win over Vargas would add another world title and potentially set up the biggest fight of his career.

Hearn believes the reward waiting on the other side is enormous.

“I’ve got the two biggest fights in boxing. Joshua vs. Fury, Bam vs. Inoue. They’re the two biggest fights in boxing,” Hearn said.

Rodriguez has to get past Vargas first. However, if Hearn’s prediction proves accurate, the road could lead directly to a showdown with Inoue that fans have been asking for since Bam emerged as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound talents.