Naoya Inoue Vs. Ramon Cardenas

This Cinco de Mayo weekend is packed with important boxing events. Closing out the weekend’s festivities is the first appearance in North America since 2021 of one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, Naoya Inoue. Inoue puts his undisputed junior featherweight championship on the line against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday, May 4.

Naoya Inoue fully grasps the significance of a Cinco de Mayo fight weekend in Las Vegas. As he launches toward the teeth of his schedule, returning to the U.S. to headline the traditional festivities ignites a campaign to elevate his standing as a global sporting figure.

Japan’s undisputed junior-featherweight champion Inoue, 29-0 (26 KOs), will defend his belts against Texas’ Ramon Cardenas, 26-1 (14 KOs), on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena to cap a jam-packed boxing weekend that includes cards headed by Ryan Garcia on May 2 in New York’s Times Square and Canelo Alvarez on May 3 in Saudi Arabia.

And, with former unified 122lbs champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev awaiting Inoue in Saudi Arabia in September, and unbeaten bantamweight champion and countryman Junto Nakatani due in December, Inoue has the sport’s grandest stage to stamp himself as the world’s best boxer.

“I don’t know if I’ll make it back to No. 1 with this fight, but with September, December and next year … I hope to get back with those fights,” Inoue told reporters gathered at his media workout Wednesday at the Westside Boxing Gym. “I’m really looking forward to it. I know it is a legendary day for boxing, and I’m very pleased I’m in the main event.”

At 32, the four-division champion nicknamed “The Monster” has taken some criticism for meeting aged TJ Doheny and replacement fighter Ye Joon Kim when a planned mandatory in January against Sam Goodman fell through.

The lesser foes have seen Inoue fall behind former undisputed heavyweight champion and 2024 Boxing Writers Association of America fighter of the year Oleksandr Usyk in the pound-for-pound rankings.

And while Akhmadaliev’s team has decried the extended wait for their mandatory WBA title shot, Inoue’s American promoter Todd DuBoef of Top Rank quickly sprang to Inoue’s defense.

Labeling Cardenas a third consecutive soft touch is “such an unfair indictment. Forget about [the recent bouts]. Are you looking at [Inoue’s 2023 TKO of champion Stephen] Fulton?” DuBoef asked.

“It’s not fair to point to Doheny, an [injured] mandatory or [Mexico’s Alan David] Picasso, who doesn’t want to show up [leading to Cardenas].

“The guy goes out of his way to say, ‘I’ll take him, I’ll take him, I’ll take him.’ He’s the one guy I’ve never seen protect himself, who thinks, ‘You have the title, you’re in the sweepstakes.’ He’s very [Vasiliy] Lomachenko-esque, he’s never backed off anybody.

“And it wasn’t like Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran all fought each other in succession. You have to have fights in between, and the timing has to be right. The standard for the greats is too high. When you’re a pound-for-pound guy and a big attraction, everybody wants to be in the sweepstakes, but there aren’t always sweepstakes fighters available, so you have a choice: Sit on your ass and wait, or stay active like he does and say, ‘Whoever wants to come in … I want to come to America, I want to expand my runway, fight in Japan, Saudi Arabia, wherever it is … I’ll take him. And when the next title fighter is available, I’m ready.’

“I’d rather have him fighting than not fighting.”

Inoue has only fought in the U.S. three times – two COVID-era bouts and a 2017 undercard debut in Carson, California.

“Having Inoue come back to the states is really important, because in the time he’s been away, he’s emerged as the pound-for-pound king and decimated everybody while the buzz that’s carried through Japan has carried through the world,” DuBoef said. “He’s one of the most exciting fighters you can watch with his speed and power.

“He and his team understand the importance of being in America and expanding your brand. He sees how popular he is, and that it’s good to step outside that.”

Inoue said he’d also like to one day fight at Madison Square Garden, and a bout attended by Japan’s Shohei Ohtani at Dodger Stadium would generate a bonanza of interest.

“There’s a great turnout today. I know the expectation is there. I want to fulfill those expectations,” Inoue said, calling his interest in fighting in the U.S.“very important to me.”

Starting this rugged stretch of bouts on Cinco de Mayo weekend is especially meaningful for Inoue after he watched fights growing up with his father-trainer that included their favorites, Mexican legends Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.

“Those are the Mexican fighters I’m fond of,” he said. “It’s going to be a great fight for me, and I’m very excited about that. For this fight, I have pure confidence. [Cardenas] is an all-around good fighter. No matter how it comes out, I have the advantage.”

Inoue recently announced his intention at a Japanese boxing awards show to pursue the showdown with Nakatani – “Who wants to see that fight?” he asked reporters to enthusiastic responses Wednesday.

He additionally has been linked to major bouts against Top Rank’s WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza – who defends his belt in the May 4 co-main event – and unbeaten WBC super-flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

“He’s the most active champion, averaging more than three fights a year. Tell me anyone on the pound-for-pound list that’s matching that?” DuBoef said of Inoue.

“There’s a lot of chatter, with everyone getting on their milk boxes screaming, ‘He’s avoiding me, he’s avoiding me.’ That’s all bullshit. That’s just their way of saying, ‘I want more money.’ But they want the fight later on. That’s not fair, and he shouldn’t be indicted for it. He’s fighting! And he’s knocking everyone off.”

Inoue is up for it all, DuBoef maintains, pointing to how other great champions have avoided demanding rematches after a difficult title test.

When Nonito Donaire broke Inoue’s jaw in the 2019 fight of the year, Inoue sought out a rematch.

“That’s a fucking fighter,” DuBoef said. ‘That’s a real guy.”

https://www.boxingscene.com/articles...endary-weekend

Inoue catches a lot of flak for fighting almost exclusively in Japan. I personally think he needs to fight elsewhere more often. I still consider him to be p4p #1. But it would help his already great legacy to go international. Everyone respects fighters who travel out of their comfort zone to take on all challengers. People are always going to find fault with even those fighters who don't deserve it... but that's part of the game. It would be interesting to see if Inoue fancies a move up to featherweight. Personally, I see that as his ceiling.

Cardenas is trained by a good friend of mine.

hopefully naoya steps back up after this fight. this will be the third soft touch in a row for him

Given Naoya's incredible run prior to those last two fights, it's natural to say that. Anyone else... they'd be decent opponents. But for Naoya, they're soft touches. Not criticizing that. Just saying it's a matter of perspective. Naoya has raised the bar so much on opponents, that those last two are in fact a bit of a drop in quality. I'm also hoping he steps it up after this fight. He's too good not to.

is nonito the only sure fire hall of famer on naoya's record?

Sure fire? Maybe. Then again sure fire is kind of subjective isn't it? Fact of the matter is he's got a string of elite opponents who weren't picked by some computer with all the chips stacked in his favor. They show up on his radar... he beats them. No drama, no shenanigans, no marination, no catchweights, no nothing. Hard core fans like and appreciate that sort of thing. So sure fire HOFers? Maybe. But he's beaten more than his share of elite fighters and fighters who have been world champions. That's why to me, right now he's #1 p4p. My only criticism is he should fight outside of Japan more.

Rafael Espinoza with an absolute demolition job on a very tough Edward Vazquez. The effortless power he gets on repeated uppercuts is insane. Just huge leverage to both body and upstairs. Breaks him down and closes the show in the 7th round for his 3rd defense and roads pointing to a unification with Ball. Maybe Leo or Fulton. Nice match ups at 126. Feels great to have an energized and involved live crowd in attendance too :-X. Yes, it is a very very real factor for the fighters.

Cardenas looking very confident coming it. Hope he brought a helmet. Inoue filling out with legs like Manny, wow. Sunday night primetime fights I have no problem with them. Going to seriously miss ESPN when they sign off. Have Jimmy Lennon on intro too

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TIC

hopefully naoya steps back up after this fight. this will be the third soft touch in a row for him

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By most accounts Murodjon Akhmadaliev is well on track. We'll be fine.

Cardenas keeping a tight wall of glove around his head and Inoue stabs thru with jabs. Inoue rocks back looking for a right at bell and partially lands. Cardenas trying to whip left counters but a step behind.

Nice effort with 3,4 left hooks by Cardenas early 2nd. He's opening up and Inoue sizing up.

Right of Cardenas alive in 2nd and got thru twice...ohhhh whip left hook drops Inoue! Same one he was looking for in 1st! Clean as you can get. Inoue up and round over. What a shot

That was some short 6 inch power. Caught him flush and went down like he was soaking wet. Great shot, Into 3rd and ref calls headbutt break. Literally more excitement in 6 minutes than entire weekend so far ;D. Inoue has his hands full but early

Big exchange late 3rd, Inoue takes another flush left and Inoue fires in two right hands! I like Cardenas 3rd but getting very heated.

Fuq it, long live the underdogs. We got a fight. Right of Inoue finding a home 4th and Cardenas taking a breath. Inoue does look heavy on his front foot, the leaning. Cardenas all about the counter but now eats a 4 punch combo by Inoue, some blocked. Damn hard right hand counter by Inoue! Has Cardenas in trouble end of 4th in corner. 2-2 in rounds. Fun stuff.

Did not realize Cardenas had this whip on some of his punches. Mid 5th Inoue opening up, puts them together well and starting to flow. Cardenas loading up more but looking dangerous still. Double body shot from Inoue, right hand from Cardenas. Inoue 5th. This is still a very competitive scrap. 3-2 Inoue

Inoue beating the snot out of a very very tough Cardenas in 6th but also got caught. Big shift here. Just a firefight in 6th, great action. 4-2 Inoue

Cardenas hurt to the body double hook early 7th. Inou giving up his defense and mashing the gas throwing combinations. Shoulder to shoulder late 7th exchanging hooks ohh Cardenas dropped hard in corner! Up and throwing back but clearly hurting. Awesome fight.

Inoue opens up two fisted piston style, double hook and backs Cardenas hard to corner. Cardenas never once stopped throwing return but bowed over and under serious fire. Cardenas eats right left and ref waves it off in 8th! Great close from Inoue

Sorry I was late to the party. Couldn't post earlier. A very entertaining couple of fights tonight.

Espinoza-Vazquez was action-packed, if basically one-sided. Kudos to Vazquez for giving it his all tonight. There was just no way he was going to beat a 6'-1" featherweight (record height for a champ, I read), especially when he hasn't got the power to bother Espinoza. I like Espinoza. Evidently the announcers did too, because they were comparing his punch output to Canelo's the night before (heh-heh-heh). That instantly made me smile. In fact, that was but the first of several digs at the lousy fights that preceded the ones tonight. Had Vazquez had some power, it would've been a very different fight, because Espinoza's face was there to be hit. Man, was Espinoza using the hell out of that right uppercut. It was just a matter of time before he broke Vazquez up. Good scrap, but one-sided. It's kind of unfair in a way to have a 6'-1" featherweight champion. Who the hell can beat him? But I like him. He's humble, and a good champion.

Then came the main event. I was as surprised as everyone else when Cardenas dropped Inoue. Kind of reminds you that Naoya is human after all. Makes me rethink Inoue's possibilities at featherweight, if he ever chose to go there. Before it seemed he could just walk through any opposition. That aura of invincibility is gone, and it's fair to reconsider how he'd do at 126. One thing's for sure, though. I think everyone enjoyed seeing him fight in the States... and hopefully there will be more of that in the future. Cardenas was more than game while he was in there, and that was a nice surprise.

All in all, a good antidote to the crap fights in the last couple of days. I smiled every time they mentioned Canelo's fight. Hell... even when interviewing Inoue after his victory, the interviewer couldn't help throwing another dig at Ginger.

Loved it. :D :cool:

That was a brilliant contest, way better than Eubank Jnr v Conor Benn in terms of level and quality.

Cardenas fought very well and gave Inoue a lot of problems. These are difficult challenges for Inoue and are not formalities. Inoue adjusted as all good champions and eventually broke down Ramon who just covered up and waited too long to throw back.

Inoue saves the boring contest that have happened over the last few days.

naoya always brings the action. ramon came to fight & was swinging those hooks. that naoya knockdpwn was uncannily similar to the luis nery one. he's got to keep those defensive lapses in check. by the fifth i thought naoya was in control & was starting to take over the contest. japanese featherweight prospect mikito nakano looked destructive, one to keep an eye on. emiliano is nice, needs to step up. rafael is brutal. he does leave gaps & holes open but his bodywork & those uppercuts are nasty. edward is a tough guy & he's never been defeated like that before. that's a very good win for rafael. i'd like to see him get a unification against angelo leo, i think top rank has some options on angelo after the luis alberto lopez fight so it's doable, they might also try to move rafael up to one thirty to face emanuel navarrete for the wbo belt there

art berrera jr v juan carlos guerra jr
http://ok.ru/video/8904465975909

mikito nakano v pedro marquez
http://ok.ru/video/8904241449573

rohan polanco v fabian maidana
http://ok.ru/video/8904227097189

emiliano vargas v juan leon
http://ok.ru/video/8904469252709

ra’eese aleem v rudy garcia
http://ok.ru/video/8904340015717

rafael espinoza v edward vazquez
http://ok.ru/video/8904167656037

naoya inoue v ramon cardenas
http://ok.ru/video/8904139213413
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2_FFOO5dpY

Before the fight, I thought maybe Cardenas was about to cause an upset and put that King Kong down on Godzilla the bum killer, but as usual the manlet nippon god claimed another body.

Shame on Ryan, Shame on Haney, Shame on Lopez, Shame on Canelo.
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I came into the Inoue Vs Cardenas fight like this

https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2...BQR2/giphy.gif

My prayers were answered. So thanks for saving us Naoya, you were our last hope for the weekend.​

Inoue truly is boxing's Yokozuna. He's like Pac-Man with less Christianity.

“Hajime no Ippo” and “Ashita no Joe" are two of Japan's biggest selling mangas

https://a.storyblok.com/f/178900/720...5)format(webp)

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WrO5BBo0I5o/sddefault.jpg

Inoue is almost as big as both of them in Japan. For those who don't know these manga series sell about 60 million copies each. To put that into perspective you probably have to sell 15 thousand book copies to get on the Amazon best sellers list. Manga's sell by the truckload in Asia and as I say Inoue is close to as big as them

I didn't realize Baseball is the national sport in Japan, I didn't know and they're the best in the world at it. I thought it was America but American ain't are barely even in the top five

Anyway four belts on the line, and Inoue was out here fighting like a madman — all aggression, risk, and skill. Pure insanity. What a show. A true entertainer. Hat's off to Cardenas too man he's a DAWG. Warrior vs Warrior.. no running no dancing no hugging just fighting till the end..real boxing
​
I loved how Inoue handled being knocked down - he didn't rush to his feet and try to pretend it didn't hurt, he took his time, gathered himself, stood up and went straight back to work. That's champion stuff.
​
And even though Inoue is responsible for more liver damage than alcoholism.​ He's also the cleanest fighter out there. No elbows, low blows, headbutts, just clean shots and straight heart.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Denilson3.0

Before the fight, I thought maybe Cardenas was about to cause an upset and put that King Kong down on Godzilla the bum killer, but as usual the manlet nippon god claimed another body.

Shame on Ryan, Shame on Haney, Shame on Lopez, Shame on Canelo.
​
I came into the Inoue Vs Cardenas fight like this

https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2...BQR2/giphy.gif

My prayers were answered. So thanks for saving us Naoya, you were our last hope for the weekend.​

Inoue truly is boxing Yokozuna. He's like Pac-Man with less Christianity.

“Hajime no Ippo” and “Ashita no Joe" are two of Japan's biggest selling mangas

https://a.storyblok.com/f/178900/720...5)format(webp)

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WrO5BBo0I5o/sddefault.jpg

Inoue is almost as big as both of them in Japan. For those who don't know these manga series sell about 60 million copies each. To put that into perspective you probably have to sell 15 thousand book copies to get on the Amazon best sellers list. Manga's sell by the truckload in Asia and as I say Inoue is close to as big as them

I didn't realize Baseball is the national sport in Japan, I didn't know and they're the best in the world at it. I thought it was America but American ain't are barely even in the top five

Anyway four belts on the line, and Inoue was out here fighting like a madman — all aggression, risk, and skill. Pure insanity. What a show. A true entertainer. Hat's off to Cardenas too man he's a DAWG. Warrior vs Warrior.. no running no dancing no hugging just fighting till the end..real boxing
​
I loved how Inoue handled being knocked down - he didn't rush to his feet and try to pretend it didn't hurt, he just went straight to business, took his time, gathered himself, stood up and went back to work. That's champion stuff. Too many fakes who jump straight up and pretend like it was nothing then get KO'd
​
And even though Inoue is responsible for more liver damage than alcoholism.​ He is also the cleanest fighter out there. No elbows, low blows, headbutts, just clean shots and straight heart

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Very good and informative post. The only thing I could add is that "The Monster" is one of the busiest champions, if not the busiest, of the new era. He became one of my favorite fighters long time ago, and like Tito, I have had him no. 1 p4p for a very long time since Ginger was wrongfully crowned.

Inoue has certainly been active, 6 fights in 2 years is worthy of p4p best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iwng100

Very good and informative post. The only thing I could add is that "The Monster" is one of the busiest champions, if not the busiest, of the new era. He became one of my favorite fighters long time ago, and like Tito, I have had him no. 1 p4p for a very long time since Ginger was wrongfully crowned.

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Obviously his fighting in the States plays heavily into his recognition outside of Japan, and beyond us hardcore boxing fans. He's the type of champion people gladly pay to see. He said so himself... he likes to brawl. Although he's a legend in his native Japan, I hope he enjoyed his reception in the States enough to want to continue fighting there. He seems to want to fight Murodjon Akhmadaliev next.

https://www.secondsout.com/news/naoy...-p4p-number-1/

Assuming he dispatches Murodjon, it'd be interesting to see whether he would set his sights on featherweight. There are some tough cookies up there.

Yo, these fools actin' like legends ain't never hit the ground. Lyft? Ain't nothin' wrong with clockin' in. Some top dogs was bustin' their ass in basic jobs before they blew up. That was a straight-up brawl, both cats hungry to claim that W, that’s the action I rolled up for