Naoya Inoue is set to face Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas on Cinco De Mayo weekend, before potentially fighting in Saudi Arabia in December.
Naoya Inoue has built a reputation for himself as ‘The Monster’, a knockout artist with 26 stoppage wins to his 29-0 record.
In his last outing in Vegas, Inoue stopped Michael Dasmarinas with a sickening body shot.
Just three men have gone the distance with Inoue, and only two of those were 12-round contests.
It was one of those men, one of Inoue’s fiercest rivals, who Inoue showed true kindness to.
Naoya Inoue allowed his rival to borrow his trophy and celebrate with his sons
In 2019, Inoue faced one of the toughest tests of his career to date. The last man to go the distance with Inoue was David Carmona, who lost on a wide margin to the Japanese star, but this time was a bit different.
Inoue took on Nonito Donaire in the World Boxing Super Series final, and, after a hard-fought match, came away victorious. On one scorecard, Inoue ended up just one round shy of a draw.
Though Inoue won the coveted Muhammad Ali trophy, he allowed Donaire to borrow it so that he could celebrate with his kids after telling them he was going to win the tournament.
Donaire took to social media to thank Inoue for his kind gesture, showing much respect was gained over those 12 rounds.
Donaire became the last man to ever go the distance with Inoue, who was dropped by Luis Nery, so far, with every win since coming by way of stoppage.
Unfortunately, Donaire himself fell victim to this knockout streak, as he was stopped in just the second round of their rematch.
Naoya Inoue has two big potential next opponents
Inoue’s sights are set firmly on Cardenas, but a win in May will set up ‘The Monster’ for his Saudi debut against one of two frontrunners.
The first is Uzebk boxer MJ Akhmadaliev. Akhmadaliev is a former IBF super bantamweight champion, but lost a split decision to Inoue’s former opponent Marlon Tapales.
Despite losing to their common opponent, 13-1 Akhmadaliev believes he will be the man to slay ‘The Monster.’
The other frontrunner is Liverpudlian Nick Ball, who fought Inoue’s former opponent TJ Doheny last weekend, stopping him in the tenth round. Inoue mocked Ball for kicking Doheny during their fight.
Ball has become a fan favorite for many in the UK due to his relentless pressure, with some calling him a ‘Mini Mike Tyson’.
Other fans want to see Inoue face Gervonta Davis, especially after Davis praised him.
It remains to be seen who will secure the spot against Inoue, but whoever it is will have a big task ahead of them, as ‘The Monster’ seems as dangerous as ever.