"I'm working with Matchroom to make it happen," John Lewis told The Ring. "Both fighters want it."

Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs), The Ring's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, would defend his undisputed 122-pound titles against pound-for-pound No. 4 Rodriguez sometime in Tokyo in March.

Rodriguez (24-0, 17 KOs), a three-weight world champion, currently campaigns at 118 pounds but is ready to make another jump up in weight for a superfight with Japanese star Inoue.

Inoue, a four-weight world champ, hasn't been in action since beating Junto Nakatani in the biggest fight in Japanese history on May 2 at Tokyo Dome. Rodriguez stopped Antonio Vargas in six rounds, winning the WBA bantamweight title in his first fight at the weight, in June.