Rodriguez arrives in Japan ahead of IBF title defense
On May 4th we’ll see IBF Bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez (22-2, 13) defending his title in a mandatory defense against Japan’s Ryosuke Nishida (8-0, 1) [西田凌佑] in Osaka, in what will be Nishida’s first world title bout. Yesterday, ahead of the bout, Rodriguez arrived in Japan, where he was met by the press.
During a Q&A with the media, Rodriguez revealed that he had done around 200 rounds of sparring for the bout, and had done so at altitude in Mexico, leading him to be in great condition. The champion also came across as highly confident of overcoming his challenger, explaining that whilst Nishida was a good boxer, his lack of experience will be an issue for him, and that Rodriguez's experience will be the difference when the men step in the ring.
The champion, whilst clearly not over-looking Nishida, did reveal that he had big plans, and that he wants to beat Nishida before pursuing unification bouts in the future, which could mean bouts with the likes of WBC champion Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20) [中谷 潤人] or WBA champion Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5) [井上拓真], both of which would likely see him returning to Japan.
Notably this is his first time in Japan, though he did say he loved Japanese culture, and anime, and is looking to enjoy being in Japan whilst also winning some fans over. It should be noted that Rodriguez failed to win over Japanese fans back in 2019, prior to his WBSS clash with Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23) [井上尚弥] in Scotland, where his team seemed to rub up the Inoue team, specifically Naoya’s father Shingo, before being stopped in 2 rounds. He’ll be hoping not to get a hostile response from fans who remember the pre-fight antics for that bout.
During a Q&A with the media, Rodriguez revealed that he had done around 200 rounds of sparring for the bout, and had done so at altitude in Mexico, leading him to be in great condition. The champion also came across as highly confident of overcoming his challenger, explaining that whilst Nishida was a good boxer, his lack of experience will be an issue for him, and that Rodriguez's experience will be the difference when the men step in the ring.
The champion, whilst clearly not over-looking Nishida, did reveal that he had big plans, and that he wants to beat Nishida before pursuing unification bouts in the future, which could mean bouts with the likes of WBC champion Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20) [中谷 潤人] or WBA champion Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5) [井上拓真], both of which would likely see him returning to Japan.
Notably this is his first time in Japan, though he did say he loved Japanese culture, and anime, and is looking to enjoy being in Japan whilst also winning some fans over. It should be noted that Rodriguez failed to win over Japanese fans back in 2019, prior to his WBSS clash with Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23) [井上尚弥] in Scotland, where his team seemed to rub up the Inoue team, specifically Naoya’s father Shingo, before being stopped in 2 rounds. He’ll be hoping not to get a hostile response from fans who remember the pre-fight antics for that bout.