05/04/25 11:25:00
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05/04 23:23 CDT Inoue overcomes early knockdown, dominates Cardenas to remain
undefeated with 8th-round TKO
Inoue overcomes early knockdown, dominates Cardenas to remain undefeated with
8th-round TKO
By W.G. RAMIREZ
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) --- Naoya Inoue remained undefeated after retaining the
undisputed junior featherweight title with an eighth-round technical knockout
of Ramon Cardenas on Sunday night in front of a packed house inside T-Mobile
Arena and a nationally televised audience on ESPN.
Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), who was knocked down in the second round, played the
aggressor much of the fight by using precision and power to carve his way
through Cardenas (26-2), frequently sending the announced 8,474 gathering into
a frenzy.
"By watching tonight's fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,"
Ionue said. "I was very surprised (at the knockdown), but I took things calmly
and put myself together. ... From then on, I made sure to not take that punch
again."
The Japanese icon, affectionately known as "Monster," landed 57 of 103 power
punches (55%) in the sixth and seventh rounds alone, per CompuBox.
Ionue, fighting in Las Vegas for the first time in four years, was ahead by
identical scores of 68-63 on all three judges' scorecards at the time of
stoppage.
"The fans here were supportive and great," said Ionue, 32. "And I hope I was
able to entertain them."
Inoue opened the fight with confidence by landing several shots.
But in charging forward in the second round, Ionue walked directly into
Cardenas' right-handed counter, dropping the undefeated champion.
It wouldn't take long for Ionue to shake off the miscue, as he continued to
dominate by picking his spots, going from the body to the head, wearing down
his challenger. By the end of the fourth round, Ionue had landed 48 of the 90
punches thrown, including 33 power shots.
Cardenas, though, appeared to absorb everything, while countering when he could.
Inoue caught Cardenas near the halfway point of the sixth round and drove him
into the corner while landing several combos. With Cardenas throwing counters,
Ionue used the final 18 seconds to pulverize the 29-year-old challenger.
Inoue scored his first knockdown of the fight in the seventh round, catching
Cardenas in the corner and dropping him after landing four consecutive rights.
Knowing he had his opponent defeated, Ionue was relentless in the eighth round,
eventually prompting referee Thomas Taylor to step in.
"He's pound-for-pound one of the greatest fighters on the planet," Cardenas
said.
Ionue is scheduled to fight a mandatory bout against Murodjon Akhmadaliev in
September, in what could be his toughest challenge to date.
The co-main event saw Mexico's Rafael Espinoza (27-0, 23 KOs) retain his WBO
featherweight belt with a TKO of Edward Vazquez (17-3) at 1:47 of the seventh
round. Espinoza dominated in all seven rounds, pouring it on with a bevy of
punches from the fourth round until referee Harvey Dock stepped in to stop the
fight.
Rohan Polanco dropped Fabian Maidana with a thunderous body shot in the 10th
round and went on to win by unanimous decision. With the win, Polanco (16-0, 10
KOs) retained his minor welterweight title. Maidana fell to 24-4.
Emiliano Vargas (14-0, 12 KOs) used a vicious combination that finished with a
left uppercut to the face of Juan Leon (11-3-1) for a second-round technical
knockout at 1:40. Vargas is the son of former two-time light middleweight
champion, Fernando Vargas.
___
AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
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