IBF schedules bantamweight purse bid

By Scott Shaffer

18/01/2024

IBF schedules bantamweight purse bid

On December 12th, the IBF ordered its bantamweight champion, Emmanuel Rodriguez of Puerto Rico, to begin negotiations with IBF #1 contender Ryosuke Nishida of Japan for a mandatory title defense. An agreement was not be reached within the time frame set forth by the IBF, so the IBF has scheduled a purse bid for Tuesday, January 30th at 12 noon Eastern time. Nishida, age 27, is only 8-0 but is a worthy contender, having reeled off six straight quality wins, including a 2021 victory over former WBC flyweight champion Daigo Higa. Rodriguez 22-2, 13 KOs) became a two-time IBF champion in August, securing the vacant title via wide unanimous decision over Melvin Lopez.

RECENT BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP DEVELOPMENTS
 
JAN. 14, 2024 / WBO... In Quebec City, Jason Moloney (27-2, 19 KOs) retained his WBO bantamweight title with a majority decision over Saul Sanchez (20-3, 12 KOs) in a back-and-forth tussle in which the Australian’s versatility made the difference. One judge scored it 114-114, which was overruled by two scores of 116-112.Moloney swept the final two rounds on two of the judges' cards to pull away.
 
AUG. 13, 2023 / IBF ... Puerto Rico's Emmanuel Rodriguez became a two-time IBF bantamweight champion Saturday night, securing a unanimous decision over Melvin Lopez in headlining action live on Showtime from The Theater at MGM National Harbor in Maryland. Rodriguez (22-2, 13 KOs) sustained swelling over his right eye in the second round of the twelve-round battle, and even though the eye ballooned as the fight wore on, he outclassed his opponent to the tune of 120-105 scores in his favor from all three judges.
 
JULY 30, 2023 / WBC... Mexico's Alexandro Santiago is the new WBC 118-pound champion. Four-division world champion Nonito Donaire’s heart and experience were on full display tonight at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena. Unfortunately for the Filipino legend, those attributes were not enough to overcome the younger, stronger and fresher Santiago in their battle for the vacant WBC bantamweight world title. The WBC’s 118-pound strap was vacated by “The Monster” Naoya Inoue, who moved up to super bantamweight to defeat Stephen Fulton earlier this week in Japan. The second half of the fight saw Donaire fading and getting hurt by Santiago’s hooks and uppercuts. Donaire was staggered and hurt over the final three minutes, but he continued to fight back as best he could. After twelve grueling rounds, the scorecards read 116-112 (twice) and 115-113, all for Santiago via unanimous decision. The new champion Santiago, whose son was born just days prior to the bout, improved to 28-3-5 (14 KOs). Participating in his fiftieth, and perhaps final, professional bout, Donaire left the ring at 42-8 (28 KOs).
 
MAY 13, 2023 / WBO... Jason "Mayhem" Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs) captured the vacant WBO bantamweight title with a majority decision win against Filipino puncher Vincent Astrolabio (18-4, 13 KOs). This was one of the four titles vacated by Naoya Inoue, the world champion who moved up to 122 pounds last year (but has yet to fight in his new weight division). Moloney boxed intelligently to prevent Astrolabio’s ever-present power from hurting him. Astrolabio had some success in cutting the distance in the early rounds, but by the middle rounds, the 32-year-old native of Melbourne, Australia, began easily controlling the fight with constant footwork and jabs. Despite a seemingly clear Moloney win, one judge scored the fight 114-114. That score was overruled by scores of 115-113 and 116-112 for Moloney, who will return home as champion.
 
APRIL 8, 2023 / WBA... Japan's Takuma Inoue followed in his brother's footsteps by winning the vacant WBA bantamweight championship against 41 year-old Venezuelan Liborio Solis in Tokyo on Saturday. Inoue won by unanimous decision, claiming one of the four belts that Naoya Inoue put up for grabs when Naoya decided to move up to the super bantamweight division. Takuma Inoue won the bout despite a cut over his left eye that was accidentally inflicted in the fifth round. Takuma is now 18-1 with the lone loss coming against Nourdine Oubaali in 2019. Solis, a former 115-poud champion is now 35-7-1. He had a huge victory in Japan when he won the WBA 115-pound title against Kohei Kono in 2013, but his last four fights came against weak opposition.
 
JAN. 13, 2023 / WORLD: World bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue will make the jump to the super bantamweight division in his next fight and, therefore, will vacate his 118-pound titles. Inoue held all four major titles, which means his announcement will create championship opportunities for up to eight bantamweights. The WBA reports that at a press conference held in Yokohama, Japan, "Monster" told the press that he will be looking for new challenges in his career after having dominated the bantamweight division. The 29 year-old Japanese star stressed that he is in the process of adapting to his new weight and that he is already looking for the best opponents in the category to face them. 
 
DEC. 13, 2022 / WORLD: In Japan, Naoya Inoue Inoue became the four-belt, undisputed world bantamweight champion by knocking out Paul Butler in the eleventh round. According to Compubox, it was a one-sided drubbing in which Inoue outlanded Butler 151 punches to 38. Inoue is now 24-0, while Butler returns to England with a record of 34-3.2.
 
JUNE 30, 2022 / WBC. WBA, IBF: In Yokohoma, Japan, Naoya Inoue became a three-belt bantamweight champion by destroying Nonito Donaire via second-round technical knockout. The fight ended when Inoue backed Donaire into a corner and floored the Filippino legend with a combination that convinced the referee to end the bout. Inoue adds the WBC 118-pound title to the WBA and IBF versions he already owned. Inoue (23-0) will now consider whether to go after the only other bantamweight title holder (England's Paul Butler) or move up to 122 pounds. Donaire, a former four-division champion and certain hall of famer, falls to 42-7.

NOV. 1, 2020 / WBA, IBF: WBA/IBF bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue controlled every minute of every round against Australia's Jason Moloney, a very accomplished boxer, before knocking Moloney out as round seven drew to a close. Inoue showed a massive arsenal of skills. He has both speed and power. He can lead or counterpunch and he scored knockdowns with both his left and right hands. Inoue (20-0) was seeing his first action in nearly a year, as he had to recover from a broken orbital suffered in his win over Nonito Donaire. He won all of the early rounds, and staggered Moloney (21-2) for the first time with a right hand in round five. In the next round, Inoue knocked Moloney down with a counter left hook. In the seventh, he finished Moloney off with a short right that put him down for the ten count. Next up for Inoue could be unification vs. WBO bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero.

MAY 19, 2019 / IBF...  In Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday, Japan's Naoya Inoue put on about the most devastating performance possible for a boxer, destroying a previously unbeaten champion, Emmanuel Rodriguez in just two rounds.  Inoue scored three knockdowns in the second round against Rodriguez (19-1), a man who had never before been down as a pro. The first knockdown was a left that bloodied Rodriguez's nose. The second was a body shot that left the Puerto Rican grimacing in pain. Rodriguez barely beat the count, and was quickly down for a third time. To Rodriguez's credit, he beat the count but clearly was in no shape to continue. Inoue (18-0) is now a legitimate three-division champion, as he adds Rodriguez's IBF 118-pound title to the WBC 108-pound and WBO 115-pound titles he previously won. (Forget about the WBA regular 118-pound title Inoue carried into the ring, it is a secondary, paper championship). Certainly Inoue belongs in any legitimate top five pound-for-pound list. The win over Rodriguez moves Inoue into the finals of the World Boxing Super Series against the real WBA champion, future hall of famer Nonito Donaire.

BACK TO HOME PAGE