Naoya Inoue expected to face Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas!
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Over the past 24 hours Boxingscene’s Lance Pugmire has been reporting on a stacked weekend of boxing for Mayo de Cinco, with major fights on May 2nd, 3rd and 4th, covering Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The most notable of those dates, at least for us, appears to be Sunday, which is now pencilled in as being the US return of Undisputed Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25) [井上尚弥], who will be fighting in the US for the 4th time.
The plan had been for the “Monster” to defend his Undisputed throne against Mexican fighter Alan Picasso Romero (31-0-1, 17), however Pugmire has reported that Romero has pulled out of negotiations, and instead had to be replaced for the bout. As a result Inoue is now looking likely to face the once beaten American Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14), in what feels like a let down of sorts for Inoue, who will be a year removed from his Tokyo Dome win over Luis Nery.
The bout, which is looking likely to headline at a venue in Las Vegas, will be Inoue’s first US bout since he stopped Michael Dasmarinas, in June 2021 in a mandatory of the IBF Bantamweight title. It follows other US bouts against Antonio Nieves and Jason Moloney, and it does feel like something of a let down, given his bouts in Japan have included fights with Nonito Donaire, Luis Nery, Stephen Fulton, Marlon Tapales and Juan Carlos Payano. Sadly though the decision is somewhat out of his hands, with Picasso seemingly turning down the offer, and a bout against WBA mandatory challenger Murodjon Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10) now expected to take place later in the year in Saudi Arabia.
As for Cardenas he’s certainly not a bad fighter, though is somewhat a less well known name than many had been hoping Inoue would face, especially on his US return. The Texan is a 29 year old who made his debut in 2015 and won his first 12 bouts before losing a narrow decision to Danny Flores in 2017. Since then he has reeled off 14 wins including wins over Marvin Solano, Rodrigo Guerrero, Jesus Ramirez Rubio and Bryan Acosta, good fighters, and in Guerrero’s case a former world champion, but either fighters who are unproven at world level or are well past their best. In the ring Cardenas is an exciting fighter, with good power, as shown in his 2023 upset against Rafael Pedroza, where he was an under-dog before stopping Pedroza in the second round, but his competition has not prepared him for an elite level fighter like Inoue, and he needs to put in a career best performance just to come close to being competitive.
The plan had been for the “Monster” to defend his Undisputed throne against Mexican fighter Alan Picasso Romero (31-0-1, 17), however Pugmire has reported that Romero has pulled out of negotiations, and instead had to be replaced for the bout. As a result Inoue is now looking likely to face the once beaten American Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14), in what feels like a let down of sorts for Inoue, who will be a year removed from his Tokyo Dome win over Luis Nery.
The bout, which is looking likely to headline at a venue in Las Vegas, will be Inoue’s first US bout since he stopped Michael Dasmarinas, in June 2021 in a mandatory of the IBF Bantamweight title. It follows other US bouts against Antonio Nieves and Jason Moloney, and it does feel like something of a let down, given his bouts in Japan have included fights with Nonito Donaire, Luis Nery, Stephen Fulton, Marlon Tapales and Juan Carlos Payano. Sadly though the decision is somewhat out of his hands, with Picasso seemingly turning down the offer, and a bout against WBA mandatory challenger Murodjon Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10) now expected to take place later in the year in Saudi Arabia.
As for Cardenas he’s certainly not a bad fighter, though is somewhat a less well known name than many had been hoping Inoue would face, especially on his US return. The Texan is a 29 year old who made his debut in 2015 and won his first 12 bouts before losing a narrow decision to Danny Flores in 2017. Since then he has reeled off 14 wins including wins over Marvin Solano, Rodrigo Guerrero, Jesus Ramirez Rubio and Bryan Acosta, good fighters, and in Guerrero’s case a former world champion, but either fighters who are unproven at world level or are well past their best. In the ring Cardenas is an exciting fighter, with good power, as shown in his 2023 upset against Rafael Pedroza, where he was an under-dog before stopping Pedroza in the second round, but his competition has not prepared him for an elite level fighter like Inoue, and he needs to put in a career best performance just to come close to being competitive.