In a fight that reminded fans why they still believe in boxing, Naoya Inoue clawed back from the brink of disaster to stop a surging Ramon Cardenas in eight savage rounds at T-Mobile Arena, delivering the sport a much-needed adrenaline shot on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
It wasn’t meant to be this way.
On paper, Inoue was the untouchable favourite. A -10000 betting lock, unbeaten in 29, four-weight world champion, and a walking highlight reel. Cardenas, a former cab driver from San Antonio with a dream and a chin, wasn’t supposed to offer resistance—let alone hope.
DOWN GOES THE MONSTER
Boxing fans barely had time to settle into their seats when the unthinkable happened. In the final seconds of round two, Cardenas detonated a perfect overhand left that buckled Inoue’s legs and sent him crashing to the canvas—just the second knockdown of the Japanese icon’s career.
Blood flowed. The crowd exploded. And for the first time in years, Inoue looked mortal.
Yet, as all great champions do, The Monster responded with fire.
FROM FIRE TO FURY
What followed was not just a comeback—it was a conquest.
Inoue, composed and calculating, adjusted immediately. From round three on, he turned up the tempo, walking Cardenas down with surgical savagery. The fourth round marked the beginning of the end, with Inoue landing 29 of 80 punches, including a string of merciless hooks that left Cardenas reeling.
Round by round, Inoue shifted into overdrive. In the sixth, he landed a monstrous 48 of 90 shots. By the seventh, Cardenas was being held together by sheer grit, eating power shots and daring Inoue to try again.
He did.
Inoue dropped Cardenas with a pinpoint flurry near the end of round seven. The underdog barely beat the count and claimed to be “good,” but his eyes told another story.
STOPPED BUT NOT BROKEN
Just 45 seconds into round eight, referee Thomas Taylor had seen enough. After another unanswered barrage from Inoue, the fight was waved off. The damage was too great. The comeback was complete.
Final punch stats were stark: Inoue landed 176 punches to Cardenas’ 80. Eleven consecutive stoppages. Thirty wins. No losses.
But this one felt different.
MORE THAN A WIN – A WARNING
“This fight reminded me that boxing isn’t easy,” Inoue admitted post-fight. “But I’m a fighter. And fighters fight.”
He leaves Las Vegas with his unbeaten record intact, but the aura of invincibility slightly bruised. Ramon Cardenas, battered but unbowed, earned a new kind of respect—the kind you can’t buy with a belt.
“I'm bummed, but not sad,” said Cardenas. “I gave everything. That’s all I ever wanted to do.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR INOUE?
Murodjon Akhmadaliev awaits in Tokyo this September. Nick Ball could be on the cards in Riyadh by year’s end. And looming in the shadows is a potential all-Japan war with pound-for-pound contender Junto Nakatani.
But after tonight, there’s no longer any doubt: The Monster bleeds.
And boxing is alive again.
Add comment
Comments