By Norm Frauenheim
Marinate, a promotional euphemism for momentum, is either another tiring tease, or an early way to test public interest, or a little bit of both in a recipe that leaves hungry fans wanting but never getting.
The current example: Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez-versus-Naoya Inoue.
There’s more talk than ever, perhaps because of Junto Nakatani’s disappointing decision over Sebastian Hernandez last month in what was supposed to be a convincing steppingstone to Nakatani-Inoue.
Nakatani was left with a bruised right eye and perhaps a bruised resume, yet he survived, still unbeaten for a fight long planned to be the biggest in Japanese history. According to multiple reports — one from Boxing Scene this week and another from the World Boxing Council, the long-planned bout is projected to be on May 2, a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Tokyo.
News of the projected date was also accompanied by a poll conducted by The Ring. Who would you rather see, Nakatani-Inoue or Rodriguez-Inoue?
The timely question was prompted by Nakatani’s problematic performance Nov. 22 in the former bantamweight champion’s first fight at 122 pounds.
Fans, never a patient demographic, apparently have seen enough. Already, it looks as if they’re ready to cast aside Nakatani-Inoue for Rodriguez-Inoue. Seventy-three percent would prefer Bam in the ring against the feared Inoue instead of Nakatani.
The poll, like all polls, could mean just about anything. It also might be unfair to Nakatani, an accomplished fighter who struggled at a new weight against a dangerous foe virtually unknown outside of Mexico. It happens.
It also gives Nakatani more to prove, perhaps enough to make him more dangerous to Inoue than ever. Lessons delivered, lessons learned. That happens, too.
Still, surprising questions are there, left in the wake of his controversial victory. Left there, too, is an affirmation of the emerging interest in Bam, whose move up the pound-for-pound ratings has put the San Antonio fighter among the top five, consistently behind only Inoue and heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk.
Although hard to judge, a poll is one possible ingredient in a fight that might do more than just marinate. Maybe, it resonates. Maybe, it happens. Let’s say that Inoue beats Nakatani as decisively as he has beaten so many others. Then, there could still be questions about his claim – lifelong ambition — on pound-for-pound supremacy. Answers might be there only in a date with Bam.
For now, at least, there are already betting odds on Bam-Inoue, still marinating in the public imagination. Inoue is a solid favorite, minus 550.
In the collective mind of many fans, however, the odds of the fight ever happening are longer. Quit talking about it, they say. It’s a waste of time, they say, because the size difference is too big. Bam is a unified Super-Fly champion, fighting at 115-pounds, seven fewer than Inoue, undisputed at junior-feather (122).
But consider this: The 5-foot-4 Bam and 5-5 Inoue both started at the same weight, junior-flyweight, 108 pounds. The “Bam-is-too-small-for-Inoue” argument sounds a lot like “Inoue is too small for Nonito Donaire.’’
The “too small” Inoue beat Donaire, scoring a unanimous decision, at 120 pounds, in the 2019 Fight of the Year. In 2022, he backed it up, scoring a second-round stoppage of Donaire.
The more significant difference is in that other seven – the years that separate them in age. Bam will be 26 on January 20; Inoue will be 33 on April 10.
The pressure builds with every second on that unforgiving clock, especially for Inoue. It’s no secret that smaller fighters have careers shorter than those in the heavier divisions. Through interpreters, he has hinted at retirement in 2027.
That’s next year, which means the Bam-Inoue marination could be at full boil in about six months.