Naoya Inoue has practically every champion at 126 pounds looking over their shoulder, including Rafael Espinoza.

The Ring's No. 2 pound-for-pound star possesses every junior featherweight title, though isn't quite done with the division.

A long-awaited matchup against WBA interim champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev is set for Sept. 14 at IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan, so the 32-year-old titleholder still has some work to do before committing to another move up in weight. Nonetheless, Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs) has flirted with the idea enough times for it to eventually become a reality.

Espinoza (27-0, 23 KOs) is quiet and humble, but also wants his respect and recognition. Grabbing the WBO featherweight world title against Olympic champion Robeisy Ramirez in 2023 earned him the former. But when it comes to the latter, he's still waiting.

What the 31-year-old could do is knock on the door of his fellow champions and rip away their titles. That’s one way to go about it. While he may very well go that route, in order to get the sort of praise he seeks, beating Inoue is a surefire way to secure that status.

"He's one of the biggest fighters," Espinoza admitted to The Ring. "If that fight ever happens, it would be a great fight to make more people know about me."

It’s a bit ironic. Espinoza has a target on the Japanese star's back, but several contenders and champions in his weight class have placed one on his. From Bruce Carrington and Luis Nery to Nick Ball, countless names want to get their hands on Espinoza.

Tucking his tail between his legs and ducking the competition isn't what The Ring's No. 1 featherweight is about. He has no problem facing all comers, though Inoue will continue to be at the top of his hit list.

As for how a matchup between them would play out, Espinoza slightly smiled. He wouldn’t detail exactly how he would knock him off, but the one thing he did guarantee was that such a matchup would be anything but boring.

“You’ve seen how I box. I’m an aggressive fighter," Espinoza said. "Of course, I would have to use my head and have a strategy to fight him, but I’m also an aggressive fighter. It would be a great fight.”