One of boxing’s biggest stars, Naoya Inoue has an opportunity to own the combat sports weekend. Following two average to below-average cards on Friday and Saturday, Inoue comes to America on Sunday to defend his undisputed junior featherweight titles against Ramon Cardenas.
The Monster is expected to take the ring around 11 p.m. ET, but here is all the information you need to take in the entire event.
- Date: Sunday, May 4
- Time: 6:15 p.m. ET
- Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas Full Fight Card
- Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship
- Rafael Espinoza vs. Edward Vazquez for Espinoza’s WBO featherweight title
- Rohan Polanco vs. Fabian Maidana
- Emiliano Fernando Vargas vs. Juan Leon
- Mikito Nakano vs. Pedro Marquez – featherweight
- Art Barrera Jr. vs. Juan Carlos Guerra Jr. – junior middleweight
- Raeese Aleem vs. Rudy Garcia – featherweight
- Patrick O’Connor vs. Marcus Smith – cruiserweight
Inoue has established himself as one of the top fighters in the world. The Japanese superstar will sit atop many boxing pundits’ pound-for-pound lists. He is in a unique position on Sunday.
First, most American boxing fans aren’t accustomed to seeing major championship fights take place on a Sunday. They’re also not accustomed to seeing Inoue fight in the United States.
When you combine those rarities with Inoue bringing up the rear in a much-hyped, but so far, less-than-thrilling Cinco de Mayo weekend of boxing, the Monster could wind up the hero when it’s all said and done.
On Friday in Times Square in New York, Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, and Ryan Garcia failed to produce the kind of performances seemingly fit for such a wild, once-in-a-lifetime event like the one Turki Alalshikh orchestrated in the makeshift venue at the iconic spot in New York.
Garcia was dropped and lost a unanimous decision to Rolly Romero. Lopez looked solid, but he defeated Arnold Barboza in a forgettable affair. Haney looked timid and afraid for the first four rounds before finding his legs and winning a unanimous decision in a lackluster fight with Jose Ramirez.
On Saturday in Riyadh, Canelo Alvarez recaptured the undisputed super middleweight title with a unanimous decision win over William Scull. The fight was a complete snoozer, as Scull’s elusiveness mixed with Canelo’s inability to catch up with the Cuban made for an unentertaining affair.
The undercard saw Badou Jack and Jaime Munguia get victories, while Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba fought to a draw. Those fights were solid, but fight fans didn’t buy the pay-per-view for them.
On Sunday, Inoue will try to send fans back to work on Monday having watched an entertaining fight. Inoue’s opponent, Cardenas, is 26-1 with 14 KOs. He hasn’t lost a fight since 2017 when he dropped a majority decision to Bryan Flores.
Perhaps he can help to produce the scrap the people crave. Stay tuned, I’ll have live results for the entire main card.
