The undisputed super bantam weight champion Naoya Inoue (30: 0, 27 Kos) had to get up from the deck from an early knockdown to return to a technical knockout from Ramon Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOS) on Sunday evening in Las Vegas.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top rank)
Inoue dropped Cardenas late in the seventh round. At the beginning of the eighth frame, Inoue unloaded with a storm of blows against the still Hurt-Cardenas. Referee Thomas Taylor entered and stopped the fight. The time was eight at 0:45 a.m.
In the second round, Cardenas Inoue hit the head with a huge left hook that the Japanese never saw.
“I was very surprised, but then I got together. I made sure that I was not hit again with this blow,” said Inoue that I was stopped by Cardenas in round. “I knew he was hard, but boxing is not that easy. Next, in September, MJ,” said Naoya about his next fight.
WBO feather weight champion Rafael Espinoza (27-0, 23 Kos) held his title with a TKO victory in the seventh round about Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOS) in the co-feature fight. The 6’1 ″ Espinoza injured Vazquez with a left body and had it withdrawn against the ropes in the seventh. Espinoza discharge with a flood of unanswered blows and forced the referee Harvey Dock to introduce and stop the competition. The time of the interruption was at 1:47 of round seven.
“I knew he was a game fighter and I had to dig in my pocket to win this fight,” said Espinoza after the fight and spoke about Vazquez. “These fans deserve a show. This is the Cinco de Mayo weekend. I had to make a show for her. I am ready to take over the whole opposition. I am now the champion. I know that a fight against Naoya Inoue would catapult me into fame.”
Welterweight candidate Rohan Polanco (16-0, 10 Kos) defeated Fabian Andres Maidana (24-4, 18 Kos) by a unanimous decision with 10 laps. #10 WBO and #15 WBC Polanco Maidana dropped in the last minute of the tenth round with a right to the body. Polanco tried to end it in the remaining seconds, but it couldn’t. Fabian turned out to be hard. The scores were 100-89, 100-89 and 100-89. Maidana looked depressed after the sixth round as if he wanted to stop because he had been hammered by Polanco. His trainer motivated him to continue fighting, and he reacted with a strong eighth place and landed large shots on Polanco. Rohan slipped and fell at some point what the fans delighted on the ring. It seemed to raise Maidana’s mood because he had a good round.
Light view in the world weight Emiliano Vargas (14-0, 12 Kos) Juan Leon (11-3-1, 2 Kos) destroyed in a TKO in the second round. The 21 -year -old Vargas dropped Leon twice. Referee Robert Hoyle entered to stop the fight after the second breakdown of the round. The official time of the interruption was at 1:40 marks. In the first knockdown of Vargas with two bumps, followed by a right hand and a left hook to put Leon on the screen. Moments later he marked Leon with a right hand and a left -wing uppercut to drop him. The referee pulled the plug instead of continuing to continue the massacre.
Air times
Today’s inoue-Cardenas Main is shown Live on ESPN and ESPN+, from 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. Pt. The provisional card is located on ESPN+ from 6.15 p.m. ET / 3:15 p.m.
The fans see this fight as one -sided in favor of the Japanese superstar Inoue. Cardenas is not a big puncher and has never fought against someone who is almost as talented or powerful as “Monter”. While Cardenas won his last 14 fights, his opposition was mostly tomato doses on a low level.
The fans are angry with Inoue because they selected Cardenas for the fights in the USA instead of Murodjon Akhmadaliev or Alan David Picasso. Some believe that this is intended that Inoue and his management use it mediocre opposition. It is a self -destructive step of Naoya’s part, but it couldn’t matter to him. He is rich and has a large fan base in Japan.
Complete map on ESPN and ESPN+
Naoya Inoue against Ramon Cardenas
Rafael Espinoza against Edward Vazquez
Poland vs. Weg
Ra’ye aleeem against Re cut
The prelims start at 6.15 p.m. ET / 3:15 PT on ESPN+
Mikito Nakano against Pedro Marquez
Emiliano Fernando Vargas against Juan Leon
Art Barrera Jr. against Juan Carlos Guerra Jr.
Patrick O’Connor against Marcus Smith
The WBO master weight Rafael Espinoza has a potentially difficult fight against Edward Vazquez tonight. The challenger Vazquez has a strong chin and lost only in tight fights against Raymond Ford and Joe Cordina.
Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 Kos) defends his undisputed super bantam weight title against Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOS) in IBF this evening in what many fans see as a complete misfirement in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The real jewel on this map is the WBO spring weight champion Rafael Espinoza (26: 0, 22 KOS) against Edward Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOS) in the Chief Support fight. The Rohan Polanco (15-0, 10 KOS) candidate is fighting in a 10-round against Fabian Maidana (24-3, 18 Kos).
Last updated on May 5th, 2025