Naoya Inoue’s showdown with pound-for-pound rival Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez may have to wait, leaving the Japanese superstar potentially searching for another opponent in the meantime.

‘The Monster’ outpointed Junto Nakatani in May – a performance that will live long in the memory of Japanese fight fans. Inoue was then immediately linked with Rodriguez, who recently moved up in weight to become bantamweight champion and take one step closer to the super-fight.

Following the fight, ‘Bam’s trainer, Robert Garcia, said that he would like his charge to have another fight at 122lbs before moving to 126 for Inoue.

As a result, Inoue could look to face someone else in order to maintain his activity. After flooring recent Inoue opponent Luis Nery six times last month in a dominant four-round knockout win, three-division world champion John Riel Casimero wants to be that man, as per the Inquirer.

“It’s up to my promoter, but we all know who I want next and the one I have been wanting to fight, but this win just showed why Naoya Inoue was scared to fight me. That’s why.”

The 37-year-old Filipino has been pursuing a fight with the Japanese superstar for several years and had been set for a unification contest in April 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic intervened.

Casimero’s repeated attempts to provoke Inoue have appeared to ruffle the Japanese star’s feathers. Whether that approach proves effective or costly could become clear in the coming months as ‘The Monster’ weighs up his next move.