Inoue & Rodriguez to contest vacant Ring title in WBSS Semi-Final in Glasgow

Photo credit: World Boxing Super Series

On May 18 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland The Ring 118-pound championship is confirmed to be on the line for Japan’s Naoya Inoue and Puerto Rico’s Emmanuel Rodriguez.

Boxing magazine The Ring has awarded world championships in professional boxing within each weight class from its foundation in 1922. Naoya Inoue is currently rated No. 1 and Emmanuel Rodriguez No. 3 on The Ring’s 118-pound ranking and are now set to battle for the famous belt.

“I think it is worthy,” said The Ring Editor-in-Chief, Doug Fischer. “Inoue and Rodriguez have earned their positions in our rankings – Inoue with back-to-back first-round KOs against top-10 contenders Jamie McDonnell and Juan Carlos Payano; Rodriguez with back-to-back decisions over top-10 contenders Paul Butler and Jason Moloney. Rodriguez also has a 10-round victory over former two-time title challenger Alberto Guevara (2016).”

It is not the first time the prestige of The Ring belt is part of the World Boxing Super Series.

In July, pound-for-pound star Aleksandr Usyk won the inaugural Muhammad Ali Trophy and collected The Ring cruiserweight championship in Moscow, Russia. Two months later, Callum Smith won the super middleweight tournament and picked up The Ring 168-pound championship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

When The Ring No.2, Zolani Tete, has recovered from his shoulder injury, the magazine says the South African will be in a position to challenge for The Ring 118-pound championship sometime in 2020.

Tickets for the Monster WBSS Semi-Finals night, Ivan Baranchyk vs Josh Taylor and Naoya Inoue vs Emmanuel Rodriguez on 18 May at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland are on sale now from TheSSEHydro.com

All the action will be live on DAZN in the U.S. and Sky Sports in the U.K.

WBSS Season 2 Semi-Finals:

27 April – Cajundome, Lafayette, LA, USA

Regis Prograis vs Kiryl Relikh – Prograis W TKO6
Nonito Donaire vs Stephon Young – Donaire W KO6
18 May – The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
Josh Taylor vs Ivan Baranchyk
Naoya Inoue vs Emmanuel Rodriguez
15 June – Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia

Mairis Briedis vs Krzysztof Glowacki
Yunier Dorticos vs Andrew Tabiti