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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
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. Yes, it is a very very real factor for the fighters.
Originally Posted by TIC
. Inoue has his hands full but early
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