Naoya Inoue faces Ramon Cardenas on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Battling it out on Cinco de Mayo weekend, the Japanese boxing star steps through the ropes in the U.S. for the first time in four years.
In his previous bout in a U.S. ring in mid-2021, also in Las Vegas, Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) went up against Michael Dasmarinas of the Philippines. The pair squared off in the scheduled 12-round bout with the IBF bantamweight title on the line.
Inoue claimed a dominant win, defeating the Filipino contender by knockout with a left hook to the liver. On his way to victory, the champion scored a knockdown in the second round and two more knockdowns in the third. The time was 2:45 into the round.
In his next fight on Sunday in Las Vegas, Naoya Inoue makes the fourth defense of his undisputed super bantamweight title. The 31-year-old four-division champion is opposed by 29-year-old once-beaten contender Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs) of San Antonio. The latter makes his first attempt to get on top of the division.