Naoya Inoue’s arrival at junior featherweight is now in the books, leaving bantamweight fully in his rearview mirror. What is to be found in that mirror will complete its crystallization this Saturday night (Showtime, 9 PM EST/PST). 

In the main event from the MGM National Harbor just outside Washington, DC, 31-year old Emmanuel Rodriguez (21-2, 13 KO) of Puerto Rico will attempt to win his second major title when matched with Nicargua’s 25-year old Melvin Lopez (29-1, 19 KO). Lopez has won eight in a row since a stoppage loss to Jose Velasquez. 

Rodriguez has won two straight and enters off one of the finest victories of his career. Last October, Rodriguez handed Gary Antonio Russell his first loss, rocking him repeatedly and dropping Russell in the eighth round. It was the second contest between the two, their first ending before the opening round could be completed after a clash of heads. 

The second bout made it to the tenth before the same unfortunate finish. In the sequel, Rodriguez had enough rounds in the bank to send it to the cards. It was a near shutout. The closest comparable victory for Rodriguez was a split decision win over Jason Moloney to defend the IBF title in 2018. 

The vacant IBF belt is up for grabs this weekend.

For Rodriguez, this opportunity gives him a chance to finish his rebound from a pair of consecutive losses that threatened to throw his career off track. The first of them, a second-round shelling at the hands of Naoya Inoue in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series, brutally relieved Rodriguez of his title. 

After over a year out of the ring, Rodriguez returned against an undefeated Reymart Gaballo. The fight was unremarkable, and most seemed to feel Rodriguez had done enough to win. The judges disagreed and Gaballo went on to a shot at Nonito Donaire for the WBC belt. That was almost three years ago.

Rodriguez probably won’t want to wait another three years to get back here again. Lopez, conversely, has the first title shot of his eight-year professional tenure. Something will have to give.

Regardless of how it breaks this weekend, the remodeled bantamweight division will be set. It’s already a reflection of both what was and what is to come. There is still an Inoue with a strap in the class, just a less explosive one. 

Naoya’s brother Takuma (18-1, 4 KO) won the WBA belt in April with a decision over veteran Liborio Solis. Moloney (26-2, 19 KO) added his first major title, WBO, in May by outpointing a streaking Vincent Astrolabio. Just two weeks ago, a third new titlist was crowned when Alejandro Santiago (28-3-5, 14 KO) pushed Donaire a step close to retirement with a decisive points verdict. 

With a win this weekend, Rodriguez would likely be regarded as the leader of this field of titlists as well as a sign of how dominant Inoue had been over the field. Bantamweight went fifty years without an undisputed champion and nearly forty before Fernando Montiel-Hozumi Hasegawa even managed a single unification clash. 

Reflecting on the state of the division before Moloney-Astrolabio, this corner noted:

The argument for best fighter in the world, regardless of weight, often has a few candidates. It’s part of what makes it fun to argue about. Whenever a weight class loses someone who is genuinely part of the debate, it hurts. How much it hurts depends on what the pieces left behind do with the new opportunity.  

Will the four new bantamweight titlists in place after this weekend be happy being islands unto themselves or will they attempt to stay with the trend in boxing toward more unification showdowns? A Rodriguez-Inoue clash or Rodriguez-Moloney rematch would be easy fights to get excited about. If Lopez upsets Rodriguez this weekend, he exaggerates the facelift taking place and creates even more fresh matches. 

Would any of these men be appealing for the more celebrated talent at junior bantamweight if names like Juan Francisco Estrada, Roman Gonzalez, or Kazuto Ioka sought new accolades and titles? No one has ever won titles from strawweight to bantamweight. Gonzalez or Ioka could attempt to be the first to do it in the twilight of their careers. 

We won’t really know what is possible until we know all of who we’re discussing possibilities for. Rodriguez-Lopez is the last step in figuring out the latter.   

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com