Inoue overcomes serious scare against Cardenas
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To end a busy end of boxing we turned our attention to Las Vegas, after two nights of underwhelming action and bouts that lacked drama and excitement, we got something special to end the weekend. The was the US return, after almost 4 years, for the undisputed Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (30-0, 27) [井上尚弥] who got a surprisingly tough test from ultra game challenger Ramon Cardenas (26-2, 14) at the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas. In a bout that arguably saved what had been a weekend full of divas, stinkers, over-priced PPV’s and frustration for fans.
Despite being a mismatch in the eyes of many the fight started pretty well for Cardenas. In the opening round he was on the end of Inoue’s jab, but had moments, using some fantastic timing to have success. He certainly didn’t look out of his depth, as we’d all expected, and instead he seemed very competitive against Inoue in a good feeling out round. In round 2 we saw things getting better for Cardenas as he grew confidence and did more than just look to protect himself, instead counter when he could, punching at the end of Inoue’s assaults. Early in he left Inoue with a bloodied nose, which would have helped his confidence, but the real surprise was to come later in the round when we got a major shock as Inoue was dropped, for the second time in his career, with Cardenas landing a good left hook.
In round 3 a clash of heads left Cardenas cut and he continued to defend well, bide his time, and look for left hooks. He missed with several big left hooks, but did land one, and made it very clear that he thought the shot was the one that was going to take Inoue out. Several times during the round he drew audible gasps from the audience as the shot whizzed past Inoue. Whilst Cardenas was looking dangerous, and was taking Inoue’s power surprisingly well, it did seem like Inoue was starting to see what Cardenas had to offer.
In round 4 we saw Inoue go through the gears, and give Cardenas a pounding for much of the round as the skills, accuracy, and speed of the champion saw him picking holes in the defense of Cardenas. To his credit Cardenas didn’t run, or look for a place to hide, but he took heavy shots up top and to the body as Inoue showed off his offensive variety, and left Cardenas feeling the effects of some particularly nasty combinations and body shots.
Inoue continued to punish Cardenas in round 5, with Cardenas again looking to land his left hook counters, whilst Inoue looked to break him down with sharp accurate combinations. Late in round 5 the cracks started to show in Cardenas he seemed, for the first time, to feel a body shot.
Cardenas continued to show no fear of Inoue in round 6, despite the tempo slowing down massively in the first half of the round. With Cardenas slowing, he was giving less and less for Inoue to worry about, with the Monster turning it on midway through the round. He then proceeded to give Cardenas a battering for 30 seconds, with Cardenas again hurt to the body with Inoue hurting him against the ropes. Cardenas’ heart refused to let him buckle and fought back, turning the tables, temporarily, but Inoue finished the round with another prolong beating of Cardenas who was clearly feeling the effects of Inoue’s power and having his early momentum taken away,
Inoue continued to push Cardenas back on to the ropes, taking advantage of the fact Cardenas was being rapidly broken down. Cardenas continued to take heavy body shots, and whilst he was doing his best to fire back, landing a nice burst of shots up close about 2 minutes into the round, it seemed his power and durability were both fading. A right hand later in the round seemed to take a lot of what Cardenas had left before a follow up attack sent the challenger down in the corner. Cardenas, by now, seemed to be fighting on heart alone.
Going into round 8 Cardenas’ corner, who had been confident earlier on, were now aware their man was in trouble, telling him they’d give him one more round. He was visibly slowing, and taking punishment, and each round was getting more and more punishing for him. Inoue however refused to give him that round, jumping on him early in the round and pounding away on him until the referee had enough and stepped in. Cardenas wasn’t happy with the stoppage but he had stumbled into the ropes and was taking punishment against the ropes, and had, after several rounds, began to become an easier and easier target for Inoue, who was landing some heavy and consistent leather. Whilst he seemed disappointed, he likely understood that the stoppage was right, and that the longer the fight went on the more punishment he’d be taking.
Despite fights involving Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez all disappointing over the weekend, Inoue and Cardenas put on a show. They didn’t “save boxing” as some might playfully suggest, but they certainly helped end the weekend on a high. Inoue was far from his best, and it’s not the first time he appears to have shown some slippage in recent bouts, looking less than his best against TJ Doheny last year, Ye Joon Kim earlier this year, and of course being dropped by Luis Nery a year ago. His style, against naturally bigger men, is seeing him take punishment and it’s going to be interesting to see how much longer he can still fight this way against elite level competition. He has got the boxing skills to fall back on, and certainly doesn’t need to be the same aggressive Monster we’ve all become accustomed to, to make his life easier and prolong his career. However it has long felt like he wants to give fans a show, and knows he has already cemented his legacy as a great.
Despite losing, it is probably fair to say Cardenas’ stock rose more than anyone else’s this weekend. He was seen as a complete no hoper going in, with many deriding the bout as a mismatch that no one wanted to watch, something that was clearly untrue but still said. He however gave Inoue his biggest scare, he showed real cracks in the Monster, held his own for several rounds, showed incredible toughness and bravery, and played his part in a thriller. He will wake up with bruises, bumps and pains tomorrow, but earned every cent of his pay cheque and hopefully lands another big fight on the back of this. He did more than just make up the numbers, he did more than just try to survive, and instead played an active part, in a fantastic fight, and legitimately put his name in the mix for future world title bouts. We love seeing a fighter take their opportunity and making the most of a chance, and that’s what he did here, despite his loss. Fans owe Cardenas a lot for playing his role here, and we hope boxing repays him with future opportunities.
One interesting aside, several Japanese fans did notice that Inoue was more annoyed in the build up to this fight than usual. His answers to questions and general demeanour was said to have been less cheerful than he usually is, with at least one interview seeing him revert to short, sharp answers when repeatedly questioned about a move up in weight. Whilst certainly not an issue he has made public, we do wonder if almost a week of pre-fight media work may have taken it's toll on him, with a lot of interviews, and additional media work on the week of the event. Likewise it's hard to know how much longer he has left at Super Bantamweight, with making weight likely getting tougher by the fight, and how fighting 4 times in 12 months has also perhaps taken something from him.
Despite being a mismatch in the eyes of many the fight started pretty well for Cardenas. In the opening round he was on the end of Inoue’s jab, but had moments, using some fantastic timing to have success. He certainly didn’t look out of his depth, as we’d all expected, and instead he seemed very competitive against Inoue in a good feeling out round. In round 2 we saw things getting better for Cardenas as he grew confidence and did more than just look to protect himself, instead counter when he could, punching at the end of Inoue’s assaults. Early in he left Inoue with a bloodied nose, which would have helped his confidence, but the real surprise was to come later in the round when we got a major shock as Inoue was dropped, for the second time in his career, with Cardenas landing a good left hook.
In round 3 a clash of heads left Cardenas cut and he continued to defend well, bide his time, and look for left hooks. He missed with several big left hooks, but did land one, and made it very clear that he thought the shot was the one that was going to take Inoue out. Several times during the round he drew audible gasps from the audience as the shot whizzed past Inoue. Whilst Cardenas was looking dangerous, and was taking Inoue’s power surprisingly well, it did seem like Inoue was starting to see what Cardenas had to offer.
In round 4 we saw Inoue go through the gears, and give Cardenas a pounding for much of the round as the skills, accuracy, and speed of the champion saw him picking holes in the defense of Cardenas. To his credit Cardenas didn’t run, or look for a place to hide, but he took heavy shots up top and to the body as Inoue showed off his offensive variety, and left Cardenas feeling the effects of some particularly nasty combinations and body shots.
Inoue continued to punish Cardenas in round 5, with Cardenas again looking to land his left hook counters, whilst Inoue looked to break him down with sharp accurate combinations. Late in round 5 the cracks started to show in Cardenas he seemed, for the first time, to feel a body shot.
Cardenas continued to show no fear of Inoue in round 6, despite the tempo slowing down massively in the first half of the round. With Cardenas slowing, he was giving less and less for Inoue to worry about, with the Monster turning it on midway through the round. He then proceeded to give Cardenas a battering for 30 seconds, with Cardenas again hurt to the body with Inoue hurting him against the ropes. Cardenas’ heart refused to let him buckle and fought back, turning the tables, temporarily, but Inoue finished the round with another prolong beating of Cardenas who was clearly feeling the effects of Inoue’s power and having his early momentum taken away,
Inoue continued to push Cardenas back on to the ropes, taking advantage of the fact Cardenas was being rapidly broken down. Cardenas continued to take heavy body shots, and whilst he was doing his best to fire back, landing a nice burst of shots up close about 2 minutes into the round, it seemed his power and durability were both fading. A right hand later in the round seemed to take a lot of what Cardenas had left before a follow up attack sent the challenger down in the corner. Cardenas, by now, seemed to be fighting on heart alone.
Going into round 8 Cardenas’ corner, who had been confident earlier on, were now aware their man was in trouble, telling him they’d give him one more round. He was visibly slowing, and taking punishment, and each round was getting more and more punishing for him. Inoue however refused to give him that round, jumping on him early in the round and pounding away on him until the referee had enough and stepped in. Cardenas wasn’t happy with the stoppage but he had stumbled into the ropes and was taking punishment against the ropes, and had, after several rounds, began to become an easier and easier target for Inoue, who was landing some heavy and consistent leather. Whilst he seemed disappointed, he likely understood that the stoppage was right, and that the longer the fight went on the more punishment he’d be taking.
Despite fights involving Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez all disappointing over the weekend, Inoue and Cardenas put on a show. They didn’t “save boxing” as some might playfully suggest, but they certainly helped end the weekend on a high. Inoue was far from his best, and it’s not the first time he appears to have shown some slippage in recent bouts, looking less than his best against TJ Doheny last year, Ye Joon Kim earlier this year, and of course being dropped by Luis Nery a year ago. His style, against naturally bigger men, is seeing him take punishment and it’s going to be interesting to see how much longer he can still fight this way against elite level competition. He has got the boxing skills to fall back on, and certainly doesn’t need to be the same aggressive Monster we’ve all become accustomed to, to make his life easier and prolong his career. However it has long felt like he wants to give fans a show, and knows he has already cemented his legacy as a great.
Despite losing, it is probably fair to say Cardenas’ stock rose more than anyone else’s this weekend. He was seen as a complete no hoper going in, with many deriding the bout as a mismatch that no one wanted to watch, something that was clearly untrue but still said. He however gave Inoue his biggest scare, he showed real cracks in the Monster, held his own for several rounds, showed incredible toughness and bravery, and played his part in a thriller. He will wake up with bruises, bumps and pains tomorrow, but earned every cent of his pay cheque and hopefully lands another big fight on the back of this. He did more than just make up the numbers, he did more than just try to survive, and instead played an active part, in a fantastic fight, and legitimately put his name in the mix for future world title bouts. We love seeing a fighter take their opportunity and making the most of a chance, and that’s what he did here, despite his loss. Fans owe Cardenas a lot for playing his role here, and we hope boxing repays him with future opportunities.
One interesting aside, several Japanese fans did notice that Inoue was more annoyed in the build up to this fight than usual. His answers to questions and general demeanour was said to have been less cheerful than he usually is, with at least one interview seeing him revert to short, sharp answers when repeatedly questioned about a move up in weight. Whilst certainly not an issue he has made public, we do wonder if almost a week of pre-fight media work may have taken it's toll on him, with a lot of interviews, and additional media work on the week of the event. Likewise it's hard to know how much longer he has left at Super Bantamweight, with making weight likely getting tougher by the fight, and how fighting 4 times in 12 months has also perhaps taken something from him.