Japan’s Naoya Inoue returns to America to take on challenger Ramon Cardenas in a junior featherweight fight for Top Rank Boxing in Las Vegas this weekend. It will be for Ionue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship.
Inoue has not fought in the States since 2021, when he defeated Michael Dasmariñas by knockout in the third round to retain the WBA (super bantamweight), IBF, and The Ring bantamweight titles.
Inoue’s last 24 fights were all championship fights, with the first coming in April 2014.
Cardenas has won 14 straight fights and has positioned himself for this fight, which will be his first world title shot. He is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Bryan Acosta on Feb. 25.
USA TODAY Sports will have the latest updates and results for the full card here:
Rohan Polanco vs. Fabian Maidana result
Rohan Polanco was fairly dominant against Fabian Maidana throughout the fight. Maidana was often backed against the ropes throughout the fight. Polanco landed a right-handed body shot in the final minute of the 10th round that brought Maidana to a knee. While Maidana managed to get up, the fight managed to go the distance before Polanco (16-0, 10 KO) was named the winner by unanimous decision.
Emiliano Fernando Vargas vs. Juan Leon result
Emiliano Fernando Vargas earned a TKO victory after making quick work of Juan Leon with a second-round stoppage. Vargas landed a combination of strikes while Leon was in the process of trying to move his head around. Leon made it back to his feet, but was quickly dropped again after a left-handed uppercut by Vargas.
Mikito Nakano vs. Pedro Marquez Medina result
Mikito Nakano produced an impressive showing in his debut fight in America. While the fight did go into the fourth round, Nakano was in full control of the fight, knocking Marquez down twice within the final minute of the second round. He dropped him again for a third time with an uppercut with 1:50 left in the next round.
Nakano put Marquez away with a body shot with 1:19 left in the fourth round. While Marquez made it back to his feet to beat the count, it was only a matter of seconds before Nakano went back on the attack with another body shot that dropped Marquez to a knee. The official stopped the fight, giving Nakano (13-0, 12 KO) the TKO victory.
Naoya Inoue’s pre-fight cake
While there’s a level of anticipation for Naoya Inoue’s return to an American boxing ring, Inoue was spotted in his locker room eating cake nearly three hours before his fight.
The broadcast team did mention that Inoue brought a personal chef with him to Las Vegas. It’s unclear if the cake serves any purpose besides a pre-fight cheat snack.
Art Barrera Jr. vs. Juan Carlos Guerra Jr result
Art Barrera Jr. earned the victory over Juan Carlos Guerra Jr. by TKO. The referee stopped the fight early in the sixth round after Guerra was not putting up much of a fight. The official warned Guerra before the start of the final round that he wanted the boxer to show some defense, or he would be forced to stop the fight.
Barrera improves to 9-0 with seven of his victories coming by knockout.
Ra’eese Aleem vs. Rudy Garcia result
Ra’eese Aleem got the best of Rudy Garcia in the latter rounds of the fight. Garcia was spotted with a cut along his face while in his corner ahead of the 10th and final round of the fight. Aleem was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas time
The fight-fight main card is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. ET, with preliminary fights beginning at 6:15 p.m. ET.
Where is the Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas fight location?
The Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas fight takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
How to watch Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas fight
The main event will air on ESPN and be streamed on ESPN+ and Disney+. Preliminary bouts can be streamed on ESPN+.
Watch Inoue vs. Cardenas with ESPN+
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas card start time
- Preliminary card: 6:15 p.m. ET / 3:15 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
- Main card: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (ESPN/ESPN+)
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas fight card
Preliminary card
- Cruiserweight: Patrick O’Connor (23-7, 0KOs) vs. Marcus Smith (2-1, 2KOs)
- Welterweight: Rohan Polanco (15-0, 10 KOs) vs. Fabian Maidana (24-3, 18 KOs)
- Junior welterweight: Emiliano Fernando Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) vs. Juan Leon (11-2-1, 2 KOs).
- Featherweight: Mikito Nakano (12-0, 11 KOs) vs. Pedro Marquez Medina (16-1, 10 KOs).
- Junior middleweight: Art Barrera Jr. (8-0, 6 KOs) vs. Juan Carlos Guerra Jr. (6-1-1, 2 KOs).
- Featherweight: Ra’eese Aleem (21-1, 12KOs) vs. Rudy Garcia (13-0-1, 2 KOs)
Main Card
- WBO featherweight title: Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) vs. Edward Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOs)
- Undisputed junior featherweight title: Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) vs. Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs)
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas fight odds
All available odds are for moneyline bets (as of Sunday afternoon), according to BetMGM.
Preliminary card
- Cruiserweight: Patrick O’Connor -10000; Marcus Smith +1400
- Welterweight: Rohan Polanco -1400; Fabian Maidana +650
- Junior welterweight: Emiliano Fernando Vargas -10000; vs. Juan Leon +1400
- Featherweight: Mikito Nakano -1100; Pedro Marquez Medina +550
- Junior middleweight: Art Barrera Jr. -2500; Juan Carlos Guerra Jr. +900
- Featherweight: Ra’eese Aleem -1600; vs. Rudy Garcia +600
Main Card
- Featherweight: Rafael Espinoza -1400; Edward Vazquez +650
- Junior featherweight: Naoya Inoue -10000; Ramon Cardenas +1200
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas predictions
CBS Sports: Naoya Inoue via KO5
Brent Brookhouse writes, “Let’s be honest, Inoue is a -10000 favorite. There’s not much doubt who is going to get the win on Sunday. Cardenas winning would upend the boxing world. The real problem for Cardenas is that he is not a big puncher. Beating Inoue would almost certainly require catching him clean with a big shot because Inoue is such a good boxer beyond his elite punching power.”
Forbes: Inoue wins by KO
Trent Reinsmith writes, “The betting pick is that Naoya Inoue will continue his run of winning fights via knockout.”
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas live stream
The full fight card will be available for live stream on ESPN+.
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas price
The Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas card is available on ESPN+. You can subscribe to ESPN+ for $11.99 on a monthly subscription and $119.99 on an annually.
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas: Tale of the tape
Naoya Inouevs.Ramon Cardenas29-0Record26-1JapanCountryUSA5-foot-5Height5-foot-5121.9 lbsWeight121.8 lbs77.5 inchesReach67 inches
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