Naoya Inoue Vs. Ramon Cardenas

[Spicoli]

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

[Spicoli]

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.

[Spicoli]

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

[Spicoli]

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

[Spicoli]

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.

[Spicoli]

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

[TitoFan]

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.