Naoya Inoue vs. Emmanuel Rodriguez Finalized For May 18 In WBSS Bantamweight Semifinal
The first World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament semifinal bout is heading to Scotland in May.
The WBSS announced that IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez will fight WBA “Regular” champion Naoya Inoue on May 18 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The fight will serve as the co-main event to the junior welterweight tournament semifinal matchup between Josh Taylor and Ivan Baranchyk for the IBF title. The two fights will be streamed on DAZN in the United States.
Inoue, a three-division world champion, moved up in weight last year and won the WBA’s secondary world title at 118 pounds when he knocked out Jamie McDonnell in the first round this past May. Inoue then entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and knocked out former world champion Juan Carlos Payano in the first round of their fight back in October in Japan.
Rodriguez won the then-vacant IBF title in May 2018 with a dominant win over Paul Butler in the United Kingdom. Rodriguez retained the IBF title with a split decision win over previously-undefeated Jason Moloney in October in the WBSS quarterfinals.
The other bantamweight semifinal is a unification bout between WBA “Super” champion Nonito Donaire and WBO champion Zolani Tete. No date or venue has yet to be announced for that fight. The only other fight from the World Boxing Super Series across all three tournaments to have a date and venue is a cruiserweight semifinal matchup between Mairis Briedis and Krzysztof Glowacki for the interim WBO and WBC Diamond titles. That fight will take place in Riga, Latvia on June 15.
