Naoya Inoue is set to face Ramon Cardenas on Cinco De Mayo weekend, with a win potentially setting up a fight with MJ Akhmadaliev.
Naoya ‘The Monster’ Inoue will lock horns with 26-1 Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas in May. This is the first fight of Inoue’s away from home soil in four years.
Inoue holds a record of 29-0, with all but four of his fights taking place in his home country.
Despite being away from his home crowd, Inoue has more than impressed in his outings on foreign soil.
Naoya Inoue delivers standout win in front of US crowd
Inoue’s first fight in the US came against then 17-1-2 Antonio Nieves in Inoue’s 13th fight. The Japanese fighter defended his WBO super flyweight title via sixth-round stoppage.
His next US appearance happened in 2020, when Inoue, who suffered a first-round knockdown to Luis Nery, scored a seventh-round stoppage of then 21-1 Jason Moloney.
Just a year later, Inoue fought in the US for the last time, against 30-2-1 Michael Dasmarinas. In the third round, with Inoue having won every round so far on every scorecard, ‘The Monster’ showed how he got his nickname, stopping Dasmarinas with a sickening body shot three rounds in.
Dasmarinas was left writhing in pain on the canvas, completely debilitated by the shot, causing the referee to wave off the fight.
Naoya Inoue’s next opponent was dropped and hurt multiple times in latest outing
Inoue’s next opponent, Cardenas, fought just last month in February, against undefeated Bryan Acosta.
Cardenas won a close but unanimous decision, but was hurt multiple times along the way.
In round seven, Cardenas was even dropped by Acosta’s onslaught, with a big left hook landing on Cardenas’ temple and sending him crashing to the canvas.
Cardenas was forced to dig deep for the remainder of the round as he ate multiple shots, but ultimately managed to survive and claim the victory.
A win over Cardenas in May will set Inoue up for a clash with 13-1 MJ Akhmadaliev, whose only loss came to Inoue’s previous opponent Marlon Tapales.
Many fans would like to see Inoue face Gervonta Davis next, especially after Davis praised ‘The Monster’.
Others want Inoue to face Brit Nick Ball after his win over their shared opponent TJ Doheny.