On May 4 (May 5 Japan time), the main event of the Top Rank card was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In the bout for the undisputed super bantamweight world title, Naoya Inoue (Ohashi Gym), who entered with an undefeated record of 29 wins (26 KOs), faced WBA No. 1, IBF No. 8, and WBO No. 10 ranked challenger Ramon Cardenas (USA), who had a record of 25 wins (14 KOs) and 1 loss. Inoue won the bout by TKO at 45 seconds into the 8th round.
In the opening round, Inoue threw light combinations to intimidate Cardenas. As Cardenas kept his guard high in a defensive posture, Inoue responded with jabs and a right straight. In round two, Cardenas landed a right straight that caused Inoue to bleed from the nose. Near the end of the round, Cardenas shocked the crowd by knocking Inoue down with a left hook. Although Inoue stood up and heard the bell to end the round, it appeared Cardenas had studied Inoue’s timing, similar to the Luis Nery fight.
In round 3, Inoue showed no signs of damage. He followed up his jab with right hands and closed in on Cardenas, but Cardenas responded by swinging hard with a right straight and a left hook.
In round 4, Inoue used his jab to probe for openings in Cardenas’s guard. He landed a left to the body, and although Cardenas retreated after taking a right straight, he countered with a left hook aimed at the end of Inoue’s punch.
In round 5, Inoue’s jab pushed Cardenas back. Inoue carefully watched for counters as he looked for opportunities to land his right hand. As Inoue closed the distance, Cardenas fired a powerful left hook — a dangerous punch.
In round 6, despite taking Inoue’s jab and a left to the body, Cardenas held his ground and aimed for counters. Inoue landed a right straight that forced Cardenas backward, then unleashed a flurry of punches and a damaging left to the body that nearly dropped him. As Inoue pressed the attack, Cardenas fought back, swinging hard with left and right hooks.
In round 7, Inoue landed a right straight, staggering Cardenas. Wasting no time, Inoue followed up with a powerful left to the body, causing Cardenas to bend over in pain, though he refused to go down. Inoue continued his relentless assault, landing a right to the body and multiple right straights, finally dropping Cardenas.
In round 8, though clearly hurt and accumulating damage, Cardenas showed no signs of giving up. Inoue landed another right straight and quickly closed in, unleashing a flurry of punches capped off with a right uppercut, then followed up with another right hand. As Cardenas struggled to hang on, referee Thomas Taylor (USA) stepped in and stopped the fight.
When it was all over, Inoue’s dominance once again stood out clearly. Yet Cardenas earned respect by having studied Inoue well and showing the courage to capitalize on dangerous openings.
From the third round onward, Inoue was in full control, but the knockdown in the second round surely shocked fans around the world!
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