LAS VEGAS — Heading into Sunday evening, what was supposed to be one of the biggest weekends in boxing had turned out to be an absolute dud with top stars Canelo Alvarez, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney failing to impress. Fortunately, Naoya Inoue answered the call and saved the weekend with an electrifying performance against Ramon Cardenas, who deserves a ton of credit for bringing the fight to “The Monster.” Inoue successfully retained his undisputed junior featherweight championship with an exciting eighth-round stoppage of Cardenas at T-Mobile Arena, and cemented himself as a must-see fighter. While he may not have the social media following of Garcia or the global star power of Canelo, Inoue’s performance on Sunday may have secured his place as the most exciting fighter in the sport right now.
The fight had everything that makes a great contest, with Inoue having to pick himself up off the canvas in Round 2 and Cardenas showing incredible grit and determination before finally succumbing to the overwhelming pressure of Inoue. Most importantly, it was a crowd-pleasing fight that fans will remember as ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter saved boxing from what was shaping up to be a disastrous weekend.
The best part is that Inoue will continue producing more of these performances as he pursues his goal of making history. Despite being one of three men’s boxers who have been undisputed in two weight classes, Inoue isn’t content and has teased a move to featherweight soon, where he will attempt to become undisputed in an unprecedented third weight class. Before that, he will throw down with Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev in Tokyo in September and is expected to have a showdown with fellow Japanese fighter, bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani in 2026.
But what makes Inoue special is that he doesn’t just come to win, he aims to please by throttling the opposition and preventing the judges from weighing in on the outcome. His 90% knockout rate is impressive for a small fighter, and he has continued to pile on the finishes against tougher opposition, such as Stephen Fulton, Marlon Tapales and Luis Nery, among others. He is now riding an 11-fight knockout streak — all in title fights — and has shown no signs of slowing down. Add in the fact that he generates life-changing power from the smaller weight classes and you have a clear recipe for a global superstar that is aesthetically pleasing and willing to throw down, unlike some of his counterparts who competed this weekend.
Simply put, Inoue isn’t just one of the best fighters in the world, he’s one of the most exciting.