By Norm Frauenheim
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez’ rocket-like rise in the pound-for-pound debate and overall name recognition comes with a lot of risk, including the inevitable temptation to look too far ahead.
Actually, it’s not even a temptation anymore. It happened in Rodriguez’ last fight. Saudi Prince and Promoter Turki Alalshikh signed and announced his next fight before he had even answered the opening bell before his last one.
News of Rodriguez’ title unification date against dangerous Argentine Fernando Martinez Nov. 2 in Riyadh was all over social media in July long before Rodriguez took care of business, scoring a 10th-round stoppage of South African Phumelela Cafu in Frisco, TX. Bam, he’s reliable, too.
But here’s the caveat: History is littered with examples of young fighters thinking more about what’s next instead of looking out for the incoming power punch thrown in the here-and-now. It’s a trap. Yet, it’s one that Rodriguez, mature beyond his 25 years, understands with a quiet, almost unnerving poise. The future is a feint. Rodriguez, already among the top five in several pound-for-pound rankings, hasn’t been fooled by it.
Yet, it’s here, all over again, this time in news that Junto Nakatani is expected to vacate his bantamweight titles, the 118-pound International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council belts. Boxing Scene reports that Nakatani will announce his move up to junior-featherweight in a recording for WOWOW’s Excite Match SP series early next week.
The move opens the door for Rodriguez, already a champion at flyweight and super-fly, to win a third division title. First, however, he has to add a third piece of the super-fly title against Martinez to the growing collection of hardware draped across his shoulders. By all accounts, he’s a huge favorite, minus-1000, according to Fan Duel.
The expectation – and Bam has fulfilled them all so far – suggests that that he would move up, perhaps pursue one of the two belts vacated by Nakatani or one of the two held by the other two champions. Antonio Vargas is the World Boxing Association’s version and Yoshiki Takei the World Boxing Organization’s.
Nakatani’s expected decision to move up the scale isn’t a surprise. The top-10 pound-for-pound fighter had been calling out Bam before a stoppage of Ryosuke Nishida June 8 in Tokyo. Then, however, there was silence about Bam from the Japanese fighter who trains in Southern California.
There had been various reports that Bam and Nakatani had agreed to fight. But the reported possibility was quashed by Akihiko Honda, the powerful “Mister Honda” of Teiken Promotions.
The long-range plan has always been an all-Japanese showdown between Nakatani and super-star Naoya Inoue, ranked alongside Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford among the top three in the current pound-for-pound debate. Inoue faces a challenging date in Murodjon Akhmadaliev for Inoue’s undisputed 122-pound belt Sept. 14 in Tokyo.
Then, there are reported plans for Inoue to keep sharp in a stay-busy fight against Mexican Alan David Picasso in December before a long-anticipated showdown against Nakatani next year.
According to sources in Japanese media, Mister Honda didn’t want a Nakatani-Bam fight to get in the way – perhaps risk – Inoue-Nakatani, a fight projected to break revenue records in Japan. It makes sense.
The timing of Nakatani’s move up would allow him a fight or perhaps two to get familiar with the new weight.
Meanwhile, it would allow Rodriguez to further his own reputation and perhaps move ever closer to his own shot at Inoue in a bout that is climbing up the list of “dream fights” as quickly as Bam is moving up the pound-for-pound ratings.
Oscar Valdez going home
Former two-division champion Oscar Valdez Jr. (32-3, 24 KOs) is going back to where it all started. Top Rank announced he’ll face Ricky Medina (16-3, 9 KOs) Sept. 6 in his hometown, Nogales, on the Mexican side of the border it shares with Arizona.
It’ll be the first time Valdez, an ex-champ at featherweight and junior-lightweight, will fight as a pro in the Sonoran city where he was born.
Valdez is fighting for the first time since a punishing loss to Emanuel Navarrete in a rematch last December in Phoenix. Before and after the loss, there was talk that Valdez would retire. But former Mexican Olympian, known for his no-quit mentality, has decided to fight on.
“Oscar Valdez is a proud warrior, and this is a great opportunity for him to return home and prove he still has what it takes to contend at 130 pounds,” Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said. “Oscar has been with Top Rank since he turned pro, and we are in his corner as he attempts to become a three-time world champion.”
