Naoya Inoue is arguably boxing’s pound-for-pound number one, but the United States has a contender on the up in Jesse Rodriguez, who could potentially collide with Inoue down the line. Now, two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter has offered his thoughts on that potential super fight.

Inoue is one of three fighters to have reigned as an undisputed champion in multiple weight divisions during the four-belt era, maintaining a 32-fight undefeated record whilst dominating at both bantamweight and super-bantamweight.

In May, the four-division conqueror is anticipated to take on his toughest test to date, linked to a historic Japanese showdown with fellow pound-for-pound star, Junto Nakatani, in a difficult defence of the undisputed crown at 122lbs.

There is suddenly another potential threat to ‘The Monster’, with ‘Bam’ Rodriguez seeking to become the first undisputed champion in the history of the super-flyweight division before potentially accelerating through the divisions in a similar fashion.

Currently, Rodriguez holds three of the four belts at 115lbs, whilst Mexico’s Willibaldo Garcia Perez is in possession of the remaining IBF super-flyweight strap that ‘Bam’ will target before a move to bantamweight, which will move him closer to the Japanese phenomenon.

Speaking on The PorterWay Podcast, Shawn Porter admitted that he favours Inoue against his fellow American, believing both the age and size gap to be too wide for the 26-year-old Rodriguez to hand 32-year-old Inoue a first career defeat.

“I am inclined to favour Inoue in this fight, event though I haven’t seen as much of Inoue as I have seen from Bam, but the reason why I favour him is because of the age gap and the size gap.

“That [gap] is big for the little guys and Inoue is a monster. I think that Inoue would be the favourite in the betting odds and it’s a hell of a fight but I feel like there is a gap there. There is a gap there that I don’t like [for Rodriguez].”

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Many in the sport have agreed, although others are keen to see the fight happen. Trainer Robert Garcia has responded positively, saying that his charge Rodriguez will be ready for the fight in the future.

It is understood that Inoue will take on Nakatani on Saturday, May 2, at the Tokyo Dome, as he seeks a seventh defence of the undisputed super-bantamweight throne.

Hardik Pandya, right, celebrates with teammate Ishan Kishan the wicket of Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan. (AP Photo)

COLOMBO: All those who don’t mind a sense of competition in an India-Pakistan game were left scratching their heads by late Sunday at the Premadasa.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Pakistan have been in Sri Lanka since the start of this World Cup, and have the spinners to make use of the slow pitch conditions here. There is an X-factor bowler in Usman Tariq, who may not be Varun Chakravarthy but has taken wickets in 24 consecutive T20 games and bowls at an economy rate of 5.93 in T20Is.

Still, when it came to the high-pressure India game, it was a meek surrender. It seemed that the Pakistan team had learnt nothing from their hat-trick of Asia Cup defeats and went down even before the game could take the shape of a contest.Before going into any analysis, let’s accept one thing. India are a superior side than Pakistan and for the neighbours to turn the tables, it will need an upset. But the passionate Pakistan fans are well within their rights to demand that upset once in a blue moon. Like the Indian teams from the mid-80s to the early 2000s — they won the World Cup games, the Independence Cup in Bangladesh and one Sahara Cup in Toronto even as Pakistan dominated the subcontinental rivalry.

On Sunday, for Pakistan it was a case of being timid to start with. The pitch gets slower and it would have been much easier for Pakistan to set a target and pressurize India with their spinners.But they got it wrong by choosing to field first and bringing all the pressure on their batting line-up, which is average at best. They should have understood that if it took them a humongous struggle to chase 147 against the Netherlands, they are not good enough to cross the line chasing against India, a side that would not give you a sub-160 target even on their worst batting day.“I was surprised to see Pakistan choose to field after winning the toss. That’s where they lost half the game,” spin legend R Ashwin said on his youtube show. Pakistan coach Mike Hesson, though, defended his skipper Salman Agha’s decision and felt it was Ishan Kishan’s brilliance that took the game away from them. “The pitch didn’t slow down and it spun less in the second innings. So you have to look at the facts rather than be emotional. It was the quality of the bowling in the first six overs and the way Ishan played that took the game away from us,” Hesson said.Also, hurting Pakistan cricket is the poor form of paceman Shaheen Afridi. He has been below-par with each successive game, but there’s some reason better known to the team management that he can’t be dropped. On Sunday, he bowled two crucial overs and gave away 31 which, in a low-scoring game, was huge. For India, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, the two pacers, bowled five overs conceding 33 and took four wickets. “Afridi cannot bowl the hard length consistently on a pitch like this. And if he was bowling to Ishan, he should have tried something different,” Ashwin said.The third aspect, is of course the Pakistan batting approach. It’s true that 175 on a slow pitch was akin to a 225 on any Indian track. Still keeping wickets towards the end would have given Pakistan a fighting chance at the back end.Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja, on his show said that he finds it hard to fathom the approach of the Pakistani team. “They learnt nothing from their Asia Cup losses. They keep trying the slam bang approach, which cannot work for them against a team as skilled as this India. But no player is ready to take the game deep,” Rameez pointed out.But for the negatives, Pakistan can still qualify for the Super-8s with a win against Namibia on Wednesday. They will continue to play in Colombo if they go that far and the fans will hope against hope that the opposition teams will not be as lethal as India.

Frank Lampard barely smiled at the final whistle before embracing Middlesbrough’s beaten manager, Kim Hellberg. Lampard gave his customary three-pump celebration to the far corner of the South Stand, walked a quick victory lap of the pitch with his players and then set off down the tunnel with his hands in his pockets.

This was not a night for big celebrations, at least not on the pitch. In the stands, Coventry fans serenaded their manager with refrains of “Super Frank” as they revelled in this 3-1 victory over their closest title rivals, their faith restored after a desperate run of two wins in eight games. Yet Lampard knows this was just one small step back on course.

“There are so many points to fight for,” he said after Coventry retook top spot from Middlesbrough. “We’ve got ourselves in this position, it’s game on. There is so much to play for and we absolutely can’t get carried away.”

Only last Monday, Coventry fans had booed their team after a frustrating 0-0 draw with struggling Oxford United which opened the door for Middlesbrough to usurp them at the top. Supporters grumbled and groaned as Haji Wright missed a platter of headed chances. But a week is a long time in football, and here the giant American’s name reverberated around the ground after a hat-trick that may have altered the course of the campaign.

Now there is belief in the CBS Arena once more after those weeks of worrying downturn to which Lampard didn’t seem to have answers. He had chopped and changed his side, even dropping both centre-backs last week in an effort to reenergise his team. The slick and ruthless Coventry that took charge of the league in the autumn had given way to a slow and turgid team over the winter, lacking their previous edge.

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He will hope this win sparks new momentum. Coventry had to ride out plenty of pressure from Hellberg’s free-flowing Boro, who swap positions and make fast connections in tight spaces around the box and generally try to put on a show with the ball. They dominated possession with more than 70 per cent, as they have done in most games since Hellberg took charge, but Riley McGree’s well-taken second-half goal was all they had to show for their attacking endeavour.

Perhaps this was a case of an opponent sniffing out how Hellberg likes his team to play. The familiar diagonal passing lanes from full-backs into attack were choked off, like blocked bishops on a chessboard. Boro had most success down the flanks where Tommy Conway frequently peeled into space, but his final pass missed its target and Boro wasted their best opportunities to hurt their hosts.

Hellberg was always going to keep the same line-up which dismantled Sheffield United so impressively away from home last week, so the ball was in Lampard’s court: would he throw out the 4-2-3-1 system that had got Coventry to this position but faltered for so long, or would he try something new? Lampard held his nerve, sticking with the same shape, though he made changes by bringing in winger Ephron Mason-Clark and handing Nigeria international Frank Onyeka his debut from the start, having joined on loan from Brentford in January.

Hellberg promised Boro were never going to play any other way than their attacking, free-flowing approach that had propelled them to the top of the table, and his players were true to his word. They set up in a notional 4-1-3-2, with Morgan Whittaker and the relentless Conway as split strikers. But Boro’s efforts to liberally pop the ball about in midfield were met with fierce resistance, particularly in the shape of Onyeka, who crashed into tackles and carried his new team forwards when he won them, drawing a booking and earning one too in his running battle with Boro playmaker Aidan Morris.

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Coventry took a deserved lead when they broke down the right with winger Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, who pirouetted away from two defenders before finding Jack Rudoni in the box. Rudoni slipped a low pass into the centre where Wright stabbed a low, first-time finish through the legs of goalkeeper Sol Brynn.

Boro started the second half well and were probing for an equaliser when a long kick by Coventry keeper Carl Rushworth set Wright bearing down on goal, and the striker bullied Luke Ayling off the ball before smashing a first-time finish past Brynn for his second goal. McGree fired Boro back into the game after waves of pressure finally told, but Matt Targett’s brainless handball 17 seconds after the restart gave Coventry a penalty, and Wright powered home his third to set off a deafening noise inside the stadium.

“They were awful goals to concede,” said Hellberg. “They were better than us in the first half. Second half we were brilliant, take away the two situations where they scored. We created lots of opportunities. They score both of them for not doing too much. I know if our performances are good enough we will be in a good position in the table at the end of the season.”

And so Coventry are back on top, one point above Middlesbrough and eight points clear of Ipswich, who have two games in hand and look the most likely of the chasing pack to catch the top two. Lampard isn’t celebrating yet. But Coventry have stopped the rot, and their fans believe again. And perhaps that is as big as any victory: win their home games and it may be enough to reach the Premier League after 25 years away.