Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez vs Junto Nakatani – Eddie Hearn Clarifies

Jesse Rodriguez continues to dazzle in the super flyweight division, following his dominance at flyweight. He returns to action on July 19 vs Phumelela Cafu, in a WBO/WBC unification bout. He already has his next fight in the diary, against Fernando “Puma” Martinez. Eddie Hearn has appeared on the Boxing with Mannix and Mora podcast and revealed what huge fight for “Bam” didn’t happen and the likely reasons why.

Jesse Rodriguez Set for WBO/WBC Unification Bout on July 19

Eddie Hearn Reveals Why Junto Nakatani vs Jesse Rodriguez Fell Through

“Bam” will be fully focused on his unification clash vs Cafu, but should he come through that fight, he will become the WBO/WBC champion. He’s then set to face Fernando Martinez on November 22, with the WBO, WBC, and WBA titles on the line.

Winning both fights would launch Rodriguez into even bigger matchups, and in a surprising revelation to Chris Mannix, Eddie Hearn confirmed that Junto Nakatani turned down a fight with “Bam.”

“I’ll tell you something that I haven’t told many people, which is, we (team Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez) got offered the Tanaka fight, before the Puma (Fernando Martinez) fight, and we said yes.”

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Chris Mannix asked if Hearn meant Junto Nakatani, and he said: “Sorry, Nakatani,” said Hearn.

“And we said yes, and they said no. That fight was going to go on the December card, actually, with (Naoya) Inoue as a co-main event. What a fight, and they said no. “Bam” said yes in 0.01 seconds. So, I don’t think His Excellency expected Nakatani to say no…he did.

“Probably because he’s looking at a fight with Inoue by the way, and I understand that. So, then they come back with Puma Martinez, which “Bam” said yes to in 0.01 seconds, which is what he does, said Hearn.

Jesse Rodriguez Destined for Bantamweight and Beyond

Revealing the likely future for Rodriguez: “The move to bantamweight is inevitable. Now, if we win on Saturday, if we win against Puma, we have one more belt to collect before undisputed. It’ll be lovely to do that. But I know “Bam” is already looking at bantamweight.

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“As soon as he makes a step to bantamweight, he’s one division away from Inoue. He’s 25. There’s going to be a stage (at) 26, 27, 28, he will 100% go to 122 lbs at some point. Will Inoue still be there? What will he be doing? We will have to see. But when you talk about match-ups, that’s a phenomenal match-up,” added Hearn.