Naoya Inoue-Ramon Cardenas: Stats and Stakes
"The Monster" attempts to extend knockout streak to 11.
The plan appears clear.
Undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue has business he wants to conclude where he is, and a new field to conquer at featherweight. If the plan plays out as expected, we’ll see a little of both in Inoue’s next four fights, beginning Sunday night in Las Vegas (ESPN, 10 PM EST).
September in Japan could be a long discussed showdown with former unified titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Barring injury, a year-end move to featherweight to challenge WBA featherweight titlist Nick Ball might follow. Clear both of those hurdles and a showdown with bantamweight titlist Junto Nakatani, arguably the biggest all-Japan showdown of all time, would fit nicely at junior featherweight or a catchweight.
Before any of that can happen, Ramon Cardenas will have his say.
Cardenas has won 14 in a row to earn his shot and the younger Texan has a chance to make himself famous.
Is the Inoue plan about to be shattered?
Let’s get into it.
Stats and Stakes
Naoya Inoue
Age: 32
Title: WBC Super Bantamweight (2023-Present, 4 Defenses); WBO Jr. Featherweight (2023-Present, 4 Defenses); Lineal/TBRB/Ring/IBF/WBA Jr. Featherweight (2023-Present, 3 Defenses)
Previous Titles: WBC Light Flyweight (2014, 1 Defense); WBO Jr. Bantamweight (2014-18, 7 defenses); Ring Magazine/IBF Bantamweight (2019-23, 6 Defenses); WBA Bantamweight (2019-23, 5 Defenses*); Lineal/TBRB/WBC World Bantamweight (2021-23, 1 Defense); WBO Bantamweight (2022-23)
Height: 5’5
Weight: 121.5 lbs.
Stance: Orthodox
Hails from: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Record: 29-0, 26 KO
Record in Major Title Fights: 22-0, 20 KO (24-0, 22 KO including sub-title fights)
Last Five Opponents: 140-10-2 (.928)
Notable Outcomes, TBRB and/or Ring Rated Foes: Ryoichi Taguchi UD10; Adrian Hernandez TKO6; Omar Narvaez KO2; Kohei Kono TKO6; Jamie McDonnell TKO1; Juan Carlos Payano KO1; Emanuel Rodriguez KO2; Nonito Donaire UD12, TKO2; Jason Moloney KO7; Paul Butler KO11; Stephen Fulton TKO8; Marlon Tapales KO10; Luis Nery TKO6; TJ Doheny TKO7
Additional Current/Former Titlists Faced: None
Vs.
Ramon Cardenas
Age: 29
Title/Previous Titles: None
Height: 5’6
Weight: 121.8 lbs.
Stance: Orthodox
Hails from: San Antonio, Texas
Record: 26-1, 14 KO
Press Rankings: #5 (TBRB), #9 (Ring, ESPN)
Record in Major Title Fights: 1st Title Opportunity
Last Five Opponents: 113-23-5 (.819)
Notable Outcomes, TBRB and/or Ring Rated Foes: None
Additional Current/Former Titlists Faced: Rodrigo Guerrero RTD2
The Pick: Inoue is now 5-0 at 122 pounds with four of those five wins coming against fighters ranked top ten by TBRB and/or The Ring. After a brief interlude in his last fight, a late replacement when contender Sam Goodman fell through, he returns to serious top ten fare but the opponent isn’t exciting for many.
A three-fight streak of Doheny, Ye Joon Kim, and Cardenas feels like a marked contrast from Fulton, Tapales, and Nery.
That doesn’t mean we won’t see a good fight on Sunday. Inoue has been touched a hair more in recent fights. Is it a sign that, at 32, one of the fastest fighters in the sport might be slowing down? Some eleven years at the championship level is a long time for anyone.
Cardenas has solid hand speed and good fundamentals. While he’s not a knockout artist, he has shown some pop and his durability is evident in is never being stopped. He’s also the naturally bigger man, having fought as high as junior lightweight. If he can take the power of Inoue early, he has a chance to make this a fight.
That’s the best this corner would hope for. It’s impossible from here to pick against Inoue until someone beats him.
Inoue is dramatically faster, sharper, and more experienced. While he may be planning ahead, there is no evidence Inoue is ever looking ahead. He prepares for every opponent and will be motivated to put on a show in his first fight in the US since 2021.
The pick is Inoue to extend his knockout streak to 12, probably sometime after the seventh.
Rold Picks 2025: 13-11