Nonito Donaire Says Jesse Bam Rodriguez Can Beat Naoya Inoue

Donaire believes Rodriguez has the skills to beat Inoue and Junto Nakatani but questioned whether his size will hold up at higher weights

Nonito Donaire believes Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has the technical ability to beat both Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, but says size could become a serious problem once he moves higher in weight. Donaire praised Rodriguez’s skill set while questioning whether Bam’s pressure style would carry the same success against naturally bigger champions.

“I think Bam has all the skills when it comes down to just technicality, the way Bam fights, the way everything is. Bam is definitely up there and can beat the guys,” said Donaire to Ring Magazine.

“The question is, is he big enough to utilize his dominance, his body, his style? Because if you’re the smaller guy, very difficult to do all of the things that he’s done. And that’s the question that I have.

“But in terms of skills and capability, I think he beats both guys if they mix it up. He has the ability to do that. But being the smaller guy is going to be a big disadvantage to his style.”

The comments caught the eye because Donaire did not question Rodriguez technically against either Inoue or Nakatani. The former four-division champion instead focused almost entirely on the physical side of the equation and whether Bam’s pressure-based style would function the same way against naturally larger fighters.

Inoue moved to 122 pounds in 2023 and remains the undisputed junior featherweight champion following his recent win over Junto Nakatani earlier this month.

Bam Rodriguez (23-0, 16 KOs) currently holds The Ring, WBA, WBC, and WBO titles at 115 pounds. A successful move to bantamweight would place him directly into the same mix as Inoue and Nakatani, two fighters Donaire knows well from his own career.

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