Naoya Inoue Rises from Knockdown to Score KO Victory

By William Dumoulin
Photo credit: Top Rank Boxing

After two underwhelming boxing events, Saturday’s bout in Las Vegas between Naoya Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs) and Ramon Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) delivered in thrilling fashion, offering fans a high-stakes, action-packed showdown.

The Japanese star came out sharp in the opening round, blending aggression with precision. But in a shocking turn of events, Cardenas stunned the Vegas crowd by dropping "The Monster" with a counter left hook at the very end of the second round.

What followed was a gripping back-and-forth, as both fighters exchanged heavy shots in the middle rounds. Inoue, however, began to assert control, scoring a knockdown of his own in the seventh before closing the show with a stoppage in the eighth.

Looking ahead, Murodjon Akhmadaliev’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, confirmed this week that a deal is in place for a showdown between Inoue and the Uzbek fighter by year’s end. The matchup has been highly anticipated by boxing fans, with both men widely regarded as the elite of their division. First, though, Akhmadaliev must get past his tune-up fight scheduled for May 30 before turning his full attention to Inoue.