The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That seems to be the philosophy of Naoya Inoue.

No matter how high in weight he climbs, the competition is unable to take advantage of the size discrepancy. At 122 pounds, he’s done what he always does, win belts and knock people out.

Having won every major world title and collected every notable super bantamweight scalp, Inoue could move up in weight. If he does, he won’t be in Lamont Roach’s weight class but he’d be getting dangerously close.

“He better not,” said Roach on ProBox when asked about Inoue possibly invading his division one day. “He better not.”

The current crop of 130-pounders can breathe a bit easy. The Japanese star will defend his undisputed throne against Ramon Cardenas. Then, according to promoter Eddie Hearn, Murodjon Akhmadaliev could be next. What follows that could be an all-Japanese war against Junto Nakatani.

Although it would bring him generational wealth, Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) has a few things to clear up before Inoue crosses his mind fully.

For starters, he has to figure out whether or not he’ll return to 130 pounds or continue his career in the lightweight division. Additionally, he’ll likely announce a rematch with Gervonta Davis in the coming days or weeks.

With his plate seemingly full at the moment, he doesn’t want to waste his time putting so much energy and effort into something that may not happen. But still, Roach can’t help himself.

Knocking off a pound-for-pound level guy and future Hall of Famer such as Inoue would put him in another dimension popularity-wise.

In a moment of candor, the 29-year-old opens up a bit more on Inoue. While they’ve never met, Roach reveres Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) like few others. Still, the respect he has for the multiple-division champion wouldn’t stop him from going out there and putting a beating on him if they did meet.

“No disrespect to him. He’s one of the most talented fighters today. He’s one of my favorite fighters actually but if it happens and that’s a big if, I will try to destroy him.”